April 28, 2017
Luke 24 and Proverbs 14
Two Reasons Why I am a Christian
There are several reasons why I am a Christ follower and two of them are found in our reading today: history and guilt.
Historically, the claims of Christianity can be tested. The very foundation of Christianity is built on an empty tomb. If the body of Jesus had ever been discovered, the Christian faith would have crumbled. But Jesus' opponents never produced a body; in fact, they even said the tomb was empty. All but three of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions. Of the three that are based on personalities (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. If Jesus did rise from that grave 2000 years ago, he did something no other man in history has ever done. Because the evidence is overwhelming, I became a Christ follower.
The second reason is guilt.
Proverbs 14:9 Fools make fun of guilt,
but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation. (NLT)
Guilt isn't supposed to exist anymore. We live in the age of relativity. Now there is no right and wrong. Beliefs in good and evil have morphed into little more than expressions of our personal feelings. The only thing wrong in our world is not truly living according to your own self-actualizations.
According to Jerry Springer, we should be completely free from feelings of guilt. Yet the multitudes still feel guilty. David Brooks, in his op-ed column in the New York Times, called this guilt "inward moral pressure." He said we may "lack the words to articulate it," and "religion may be in retreat, but guilt seems as powerfully present as ever."
So now we have a culture filled with guilt and shame and there is no way to experience release. The ideas of divine mercy, grace and forgiveness aren't even mentioned anymore. Because of that so many people live with perpetual guilt and shame.
The reason I became a Christian was because I wanted to be free from these negative and destructive feelings. The cross of Jesus has provided that avenue of escape. When we have the courage to repent and confess our sins before God, he has the power to forgive them.
I trust you are living in that freedom today.
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