Who is the First Saviour to Arrive in Your Life?
We all put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ but who is it that arrives on the scene as our Lord and Saviour first in our lives? Is it really Jesus Christ or one who takes the place of Christ, an imposter?
Even as a babe in Christ, we are told that we, for our own good, are to check what we hear or are taught by others. I didn’t know about other people, but from my own experience, I had no way of knowing how to check the accuracy of what a Priest, minister, or Rabbi was teaching me because I was a beginner or only a babe in Christ.
John 8:31, Then Jesus said unto those Jews who believed on Him, “If you continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; 32, And ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
What Jesus is telling His disciples is that He knew that there would be misinformation and teachers who were not qualified to teach and are not sent by Him. There would be those who would invoke the name of Jesus Christ but are imposters.
How Important is it to Get it Right?
Some people believe that we should just go to a church, any church. After all, arn’t all churches God’s churches? What if you were on the East coast of the United States and you wanted to make a journey to the state of California and you needed directions. Who would you ask? Instead of getting your direction from the best available source, you might find that there are as many directions as the number of people you might ask. As for me, I would like to take the most direct way as possible.
Denominations
When I was an infant, my parents baptized me into a denomination. As a matter of fact, most of us were joined to one of these denominations as infants because our parents or family members thought that this is the right thing to do and well pleasing to our Heavenly Father, but we read in the New Testament:
Matthew 10:21, “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22, And ye shall be hated of all men for My names sake.”
Sounds pretty bazaar and unnatural doesn’t it? And it is. Who or what is death?
Hebrews 2:14, ” Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
God, in His wisdom has allowed this. Who is it that causes division? The denominations! Even those who take the name of Jesus Christ and keep themselves separate from other denominations, unwittingly, when and until such time as God draws them one by one to himself, Isaiah 27:12. We see this pattern in the Book of Job:
Job 42:5, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth Thee.”
Because God is Spirit, John 4:24, Job had his spiritual eyes opened and he could see the precious things of God.
Nicodemus, who was a leading Pharisee, had somewhat the same experience:
. John 3:2, The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him,” 3, Jesus said unto him, : “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
These examples are the reality of the Christian life and religious experience. God is in complete control of His plan and work. As long as we are on some level following and believing in God as our creator, we are satisfied. We are satisfied until the time in our life when we experience the reality of His dealing with us.
It is similar to a married couple who decide to have children and build a family. Children, for the most part are added one at a time.
1st Corinthians 15:22, ” For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23,” But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they are Christ’s at His coming.”
God is working out His purpose for His children in a common sense way.
The Way
It was mentioned earlier about the getting directions to a destination and different people would have different ways to start the journey. If you would rather like to make the journey to the Land of Promise, the Kingdom of God, we recommend a sure way, not by the directions of men but by the leading of God’s Spirit with our spiritual eyes, ears, and mind. Men can help, but only as a guide.
John 14:6, Jesus said unto them, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comet unto the Father, but by Me.”
In seeking the Kingdom of God, we are given a warning:
Matthew 24:23, “Then if any man shall say unto you, ‘Lo, here is Christ, or there’; believe it not, 24, For there shall arise false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible, they shall decieve the very elect.”
The way of God started with Jesus Christ and was not even in existence during the days of Moses:
Exodus 2:12, And he looked this way and then that way, and when he saw that there was no-man, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
The two ways referred to in verse 12 shows us that there wasn’t a clear choice for Moses. He thought that no-man saw his murder of the Egyptian. Why then are we reading about it? God saw it and recorded for us that there wasn’t a clear way for Moses during his day and He would prepare a way to the Kingdom of God by and through a true prophet, Deutermony 18:18. This true prophet, Acts 4:10, would be Jesus Christ. Those today, who follow Moses are in error. Why?:
Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Moses was highly exalted by God because he was an important rung on the ladder who would lead us to Christ.
Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and wthout the shedding of blood is no remission.”
Moses was never expected to shed his blood, only Christ. Because of His shedding of blood and the acceptance of God was Christ able to point us in a new direction and a new way. The New Testament speaks many times concerning “The Way”; Hebrews 10:20; 1st Corinthians 12:31; Acts 9:2; 16:17; 18:25, to mention a few.
John 9:1, And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from birth.
This is our situation as well, we were all born blind until God anointed our eyes symbolically with clay and our washing with the word of God. These earthly ministers, mentioned in this chapter, knew that they could never heal a blind man or could perform any of the mighty works of God so they cast the blind man, who had his sight restored by Christ, out of their synagogue, John 9:34. It would be helpful to read the entire chapter.
These ministers of the synagogue or even in a present day church were the first saviour’s in the life of a blind man. The ministry of Jesus Christ comes in after the fake ministers are exposed as imposters in place of the true saviour.
Very few Christians know the 1st saviour to arrive in our lives comes at the sixth trump and Christ doesn’t return until the seventh trump.
This subject will continue in part 2.