Why should I leave my God and follow Jesus? It is only 2024 years since Jesus appeared, but our God has been there since the beginning, and we have thirty-three billion gods in our nation. Why should we follow your Lord? Why do I have another god when my gods do miracles for me?
We believe that a simple, direct answer is worth far more than a long commentary. This is why we attempt to answer questions with a Simple Answer first. We follow that answer with a more detailed Commentary explanation for those who desire it, fueled by our years of reading the Scriptures. We hope and pray for clarity with each question.
- John 17:1-5 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
- John 17:24-26 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Simple Truth Answer to Your Question: God the Eternal Son has always been eternally ONE with the Father and Holy Spirit. God the Eternal Son, left heaven, entered Time + Space and became Jesus when He came to earth some 2000 years ago.
Jesus, as the Eternal Spirit, chose to assume physical flesh to be born a Man by the virgin Mary. Jesus, always the Eternal Son, became BOTH truly God and truly Man for the purpose of dying to pay the sin-debt of death so sin-filled men and women could have their sins forgiven and be reconciled back to Holy God.
Jesus often asked a question of His own when answering questions from others. Jesus then followed His question with His explanation to the deeper, underlying truth.
Your Question: Why should I leave my God and follow Jesus?
Jesus’ simple answer for all people: There does NOT EXIST any other way you can be forgiven of your sins and saved to be in heaven with God after your earthly death.
- Luke 10:25-28 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
Answer to your Great Question: Jesus, Himself, declared the answer to your question:
- John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Commentary:
Our question to you to begin our visit: How many of your 33 billion gods, do you serve out of love? For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to know the truth about God and have diligently conversed with many people of various religious beliefs to help clarify the truth about Jesus Christ, God the Son.
We have found the following to be universally true all over the world: Christianity is the ONLY religion where the followers of Jesus Christ do so OUT OF LOVE for HIM. All other religions declare their god[s] are to be feared. Those gods are impersonal. Worshippers of these false gods hope that somehow, at the end of their lives, they will have completed “more good deeds than bad deeds” and, thus, their god(s) will let them into heaven.
Christianity Declares this Truth: Even ONE SINGLE sin is enough to condemn a person to be forever separated from Holy God. Think about this truth: You and I [all people] know that we are GUILTY! We have sinned against Holy God and harmed our neighbors over and over.
Universal Question: What are you and I going to do about our GUILT? Once a sin is committed, it cannot NOT be undone or wiped away. The judgment for sin declares the irrevocable, irreversible penalty for sin is DEATH:
- Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins shall die.
Truth: We can do NOTHING to change our guilt! Once sin is committed it CANNOT be uncommitted.
The beautiful Christian Truth that is beyond price in value:
- John 3:15-17 . .that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Did you catch the enormity of what God declared?
Our sins deserve eternal death. However, God the Son, Jesus, out of love, CAME to earth to pay the debt for our sins. All of our sins can be forgiven because Jesus paid in His own death, the penalty which we deserve. He then credits to us His righteousness.
A good question to ask yourself before you get alone with Almighty God: How many of my 33 billion gods have so loved me that they would die for me so I could be forgiven of my sins?
You and I, and all people know in our hearts that NO OTHER god loves us, but, in truth, these false gods are of men’s imagination. These gods seem to actually hate us and want us to serve them out of fear.
My personal summary: I have been a Christ-lover and Christ-follower for many, many years. In all of those years I have NEVER heard even one single person declare that they were SORRY that they chose to love and follow Christ.
Not knowing your age, we put before you a simple TRUTH-TEST to potentially help frame your life and death answer: Ask any of your fellow worshipers of your 33 billion gods: Does your god love you? How do you know? Did he die for you?
- John 15:13 [Jesus said] “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Surely, if that is the true TEST of LOVE among human beings, surely one of your 33 billion gods, if they truly loved humanity, would exhibit that kind of LOVE?!
Jesus, ALONE as the God-Man, came in LOVE to die for you and for Me [for ANYONE who would believe, trust and follow Him]. Ask yourself, under the simple definition of LOVE: Does my god[s] LOVE me? Do I serve my god[s] out of LOVE or out of FEAR?
Those two simple questions will likely declare to your heart what you know to be true about your god[s].
Summary Answer: Jesus Christ was either who He declared Himself to be or the greatest liar who ever walked on earth! If any one of your 33 billion gods could truthfully bring about your eternal salvation and reconciliation to Holy God, Jesus would NEVER have had to die!
If there existed any other way, Jesus would have never needed to leave heaven, enter humanity as a baby born to a virgin mother and then voluntarily offer up His life in death by crucifixion some 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.
Only ONE Man, Jesus Christ, lived the PERFECT life required to fulfill the Law. That Man was the God-Man, Jesus, truly God and truly Man.
Jesus lived a perfect life and died in our place so that Holy God the Father would be pleased to credit us with both Jesus’ death AND with Jesus’ righteous fulfillment of God’s entire Law of Love.
Why was this necessary?
God, the Eternal Word, became flesh, born of a virgin and named Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life which you and I SHOULD HAVE LIVED and then voluntarily offered His own life in payment for the sin-debt of death, which you and I SHOULD HAVE PAID, with our own eternal lives and eternal separation from Holy God!
This Jesus did to give lost and hopeless humanity the opportunity to be reconciled to the heavenly Father so they could be united in perfect love, joy and peace with Him forever.
Because of Jesus’ death in payment for our sins, a person now has the ability to choose what they believe to be true about Jesus Christ. Is He whom He declares Himself to be? The Eternal Word of God who was the Creator of all things and the Sustainer of all life to this very moment!
What you believe to be true about Jesus Christ determines your eternal destiny, either heaven or hell. Will you believe, trust and follow Jesus Christ? If you do, you will be eternally joy-filled with gratitude, for so great a love for you.
Trust in the One, who is totally unlike any other man and totally unlike the false gods men created in their own image to be feared.
- Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
We can only trust in the ONE who never changes and who was there when time, space and matter was created.
The Bible often declares the frailty of man:
- 1 Peter 1: 24-25 . . “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
- James 4:14 . . whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
It is the UTMOST foolishness to trust frail men’s theories and false god[s] that attempt to contradict the infinite LOVE, wisdom and power of Creator God, as clearly expressed by God the Son, Jesus.
Jesus, the Eternal Son, came to earth in a human body, motivated by PERFECT LOVE for all people, to die for guilty, sin-filled people, so they may live.
It is the Greatest Love Story Ever Told! We pray that Jesus’ LOVE would touch you and draw you to Himself. Then you, also, along with us will serve the One True Almighty Holy God out of Love and NOT Fear!
After reading our explanation, if you chose to believe, trust and follow Jesus Christ, we would be pleased if you would write and tell us so. We prayed for you when we composed this note. Would you like for us to continue to pray for you? Please note that request in a reply. We will gladly continue to help you in your journey to heaven.
All our love to All, In Christ
– Jon + Philis
Watch the following videos for further information:
No Other Name – https://vimeo.com/924125840
The Love of God – https://vimeo.com/912288970
“I BELIEVE!” https://vimeo.com/943289655
