Why was He Born ?
Born to die. These three words state simply the reason that our Lord Jesus Christ laid aside His glory, majesty and rights as God Almighty and took upon Himself the nature of a man. Speaking of the reason He came, but moreso the attitude He came with, Paul wrote in Philipians 2:6-11 that,
Who, being in the form of God, (He) thought it not robbery (to cling selfishly to it) to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation (laid aside His Divine rights), and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Son of God became the Servant of God when He became the Son of Man. Fully God in His nature, He took on the full nature of a man. Being God and being man, He would be able to bring men and women to God His Father in a manner that would be both acceptable to the Creator, the Judge of all the earth, and at the same time be capable for man the creature who was in rebellion against God. The Bible says that God was “reconciling (placing back into a right relationship, or friendship) the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses (getting out of step with God) unto them (that’s you and me by the way), ” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
And this reconciling work which God performed was done “in Christ”, that is, by means of Christ’s work of dying on the cross to pay for our sins. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins (falling short of God’s holy standards) and trespasses (stepping outside of God’s rules), God no longer counts our trespasses against us, if we put our trust in His Son and His work on our behalf..
But you might ask, why can’t God just accept me like I am? After all, I try to be good, and I try not to do wrong. The Bible would answer that “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). Then, even the prophet Isaiah himself, realizing his own unholiness when in the presence of God, responded in verse 5, “Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Even a prophet of God, a man who would have strong desires to follow God’s rules did realize his own sinfulness before the Holy God. By the way, the word holy refers to that which is ‘set apart from the ordinary or common, something or someone who is not profane’ and would let us know that God is not common or profane, as we are. He is specially unique and separated from commonality. We cannot bring Him down to our level and neither can we take ourselves up to His. He lowered Himself to identify with us so that He could reconcile us upward to Himself.
And that brings us to the next point. Jesus said in Mark 10:45 that He, as the Son of Man, “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” He came to minister, that is to serve. First, He served the Father by being obedient as a servant all the way to death on the cross. Secondly, He served mankind by giving His very soul as the ransom for our souls. The word for ransom means simply “a payment made to obtain the release” of someone from the bondage which they are in. Notice that although His ransom is sufficient for all of mankind (everyone who has ever lived and ever will could be set free from sin), the Lord said that the ransom is for “many”, not all. John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is who the “many” of Mark 10:45 are, the ones who have personally trusted the ransoming work of Jesus Christ. Have you? Are you one of the “many” for whom Jesus paid the price? If not, why not? Do you realize the terrible consequences of rejecting God and His Son Jesus Christ?
Remember, Philipians 2 says that “every knee should bow … and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” … If during your lifetime you trust Him and bow to Him and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, you will be counted among the “many”. But if you do not, then after you have died your body will be raised from the dead to stand before what the Bible calls the “Great White Throne” for judgment. Your name will not be found listed in the “Lamb’s book of life” and you will proceed to have all the words, deeds, and thoughts of your lifetime brought into review by Jesus Christ Himself who shall be seated upon the throne. Compared to God’s perfect standards, how do you honestly expect to measure up? Probably you will not be as vile and wicked as a Hitler, Stalin, Nero or Herod. But will you be as perfect as Jesus? That is the standard you will have to maintain through your entire lifetime to be able to escape condemnation. Have you indeed never sinned? Jesus never did.
The Bible says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us … if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar … ” (1 John 1:8, 10). Can you actually say that you are indeed a sin free individual, in both character and action? If you do, then the Bible calls you a liar and deceived. So which is it? Is God true, or you? Jesus in teaching about the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” said “That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca (senseless), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22). He also said “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever been angry without a just cause? Have you ever lusted after someone other than your wife or husband? Then like the rest of us, you have sinned. And these are just two examples. How about the rest of the “Ten Commandments” as found in Exodus 20?
As a sinner who is excluded from the “many” whom Jesus ransomed, what do you have to look forward to? Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death …”. Number one, you are cut off from God because of your sin. In fact, Ephesians 2:3 says that you are “dead”, but alive and living your life like someone who is walking around a cemetary. It is kind of like spending your life in the ‘cemetary of the sinful dead’, if you will. You are a walking corpse without a knowledge of God, without understanding of any real meaning and purpose for your life, and without hope in the world. But, that is just for starters.
Jesus Himself described the place of eternal damnation, your future home, as a place where “their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:48). The worm He refers to are the worms in the city garbage dump, called Gehenna, ourside the city of Jerusalem. They would gnaw on the refuse, and the bodies of the poor who had died and were thrown out as garbage. Also, in the Gehenna, there was a fire which burned continually. An eternity of realizing the misery of being totally separated from anything good, away from the blessings which now come upon you simply because you live on the same earth as the “many” for whom God provides, may not seem so bad on its surface.
However, consider living where there is a total absence of light, but yet a severe awareness of burning. Consider being unable to find a source of water to quench a never ending thirst. Consider never finding a piece of bread to satisfy your hunger, suffering from malnutrition with a swollen belly, and not dying but always having a sense that something is chewing away at your flesh. Some of the horror movies that have been popular over the years would pale in comparison to the stark reality of the future you face. And this future is yours because you are too proud to confess “Yes, Lord, you are right! I am a sinner! Please save me from my sins and put me into a right relationship with you.” Your pride and rejection of Christ will exclude you from the “many”, as it condemns you for an eternity that never ends. Nevertheless, there is hope for you, and it is this:
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the second half of Romans 6:23. Sin kills you, but God has a free gift for you, if you will accept His offer. We live in a period during which God is patient. He is delaying the sending of His wrath upon rebellious mankind so that more rebels will repent (change their mind and turn to God) of their sins and accept His offer to rescue them. Will you be joining the “many”? He is waiting, but He won’t wait much longer. Can you afford to delay even one day more? Jesus came and died for me and untold millions of other men and women just like you. Won’t you join us?
If you would like to ask God to save you, and put your trust in the Lord (Master) Jesus Christ as your personal Savior who paid the ransom for your soul, and as the new Lord of your life, you might say a prayer like the following:
“Dear God. You are right. You are holy and I am a sinner. I don’t want to be condemned to eternal damnation. I want and accept your gift of eternal life. Lord Jesus, I do trust you as my Savior. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for my sin. I ask you Lord Jesus to come into my life and give me your eternal life, and show me how you want me to live. Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer, you will want to get in touch with some other Christians so you can begin to find out more about this new eternal life which you now possess (John 3:16,18,36). Find a Bible believing church that teaches from God’s Word, begin studying your own Bible, asking God to give you understanding of what you read. We suggest that you first read the books of Romans, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter in the New Testament, and the Gospels of Luke, Mark, John and Matthew. May the Lord bless you in your new life as grow in Christ, grace and the knowledge of Godand the Lord Jesus.
If you still cling to pride and sin, having rejected God’s present offer of salvation, my heart grieves for you because I know how miserable you now are, and how much worse it will be for you after you have stood before the Great White Throne. I pray that God will soften your hard heart and bring you to turn from your life of sin and turn to His Son before it is too late.
Scriptures referrenced are from the King James Bible.
