Friday, July 29, 2011

The Power Of Prayer

       Revelation 8:1-6 provides for us a wonderful portrayal of the power which is found in the prayers of God’s people.  As each of the seven seals are released from the scroll given to the Lamb of God (Jesus), God’s final judgments are delivered upon the wickedness of this world.  Christ’s followers are dying a martyr’s death and watching their loved ones do the same (like hundreds of thousands around the world today).  God answers their prayers with the unsealing of the scroll and the ensuing judgment of each seal.  The seventh seal unleashes the power of prayer.  Revelation 8:1 says that these events brought about a “silence in heaven for about half and hour.”  Verse 3 presents an angel with a golden censer standing at the altar before God’s throne.  His censer is filled with the prayers of the people of God and He carefully delivers these prayers before God.  The prayers of God’s children “ascend before God from the angel’s hand.” (Rev. 8:4)  The angel then took the censer and hurled it to the earth.  “And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.” (vs. 5) 
It is amazing that the silence of heaven is broken not by the trumpets of angels or the heavenly multitudes singing, but by the prayers of the saints.  It is a great exhortation to God’s people that the final seal of God’s judgment on their behalf is not initiated by their self-exaltation, financial holdings, nor their influence in the world.  God’s holy justice is poured out in response to the prayers of the saints.  As God casts the contents of the censer, which are the prayers of His people, to the earth in final judgment He teaches us that there is great power in prayer.  And since there is such great power in prayer, we must never neglect this divine gift of such eternal significance.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 reminds us to, “Pray without ceasing.”   

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Call of Christ is Missions not Charity Work

Jesus said, "make disciples." (Matt. 28:29)  This is our calling, this is our commission.  I have seen a great deal of energy and money spent in recent years on trips that are considered "mission trips".  Some of them are trips which are led by people with good intentions, although they may not know much of anything about missions.  I am thankful that these people have a heart to do God's work.  I would just like to offer a word to hopefully guide those efforts toward actual missions work rather than simply doing charitable work.  Biblical missions efforts must include the following:
1.  Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2.  Starting new churches.
3.  Training leaders to do the same.
I understand that sometimes a service project may be appropriate in order to bridge a gap and share the gospel with people.  But please don't stop at just doing the project!  I know people who go to the same locations for years and never accomplish these 3 goals.  I think Blackaby is right when he said look for where God is working and get in on it.  Immense amounts of money are spent for young people to go on trips that are much more about a cross-cultural experience than they are about missions.  Enormous amounts of energy and money are spent on building projects for churches in other areas that are not achieving the three goals mentioned above.  I wish all of these good intentions, physical efforts, and financial resources would actually be directed toward true biblical missions work.  God has given us the best textbook on missions.  It is the book of Acts.  Sharing the gospel of Christ.  Starting new churches.  Training leaders to do the same.  Not charity work, but missions is the call of Christ.  In the power of the Holy Spirit!  For the glory of Christ!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

God Is Above It All

      For those who are discouraged, God has a word for you.  For those who are feeling a sense of despair, but love Christ, you can claim Psalm 11.  For it is in this sense of hopelessness that David finds himself as he begins the 11th Psalm.  He says, “I put my trust in the LORD” and yet the wicked are surrounding me.  In verse 2 we see that his enemies have, “bent their bow” and their “arrow is ready” and that they “shoot secretly” at me.  It is the picture of a soldier in fierce attack against him.  The threat is imminent and it feels overwhelming.  In verse 3, “if the foundations be destroyed, what will the righteous do?”.  In other words, the rug is being pulled out from underneath me, what should I do?  Even the very foundations of my life are being attacked and I need help.  People are attacking me.  The devil is attacking me.  My emotions are attacking me.  My enemies have flanked me on every side and are moving in quickly.  From where does my help come?  I feel so hopeless, is there help for me?
We all know this feeling of despair and if we live much longer we will know it again.  God speaks very clearly to us and gives help for the hopeless.  He says we must see God above it all.  David answers his question of discouragement in verse 4.  He says, “the LORD is in His holy temple.”  That word holy means that God is separated.  He is not bound by the gloom of this life.  His light outshines the darkness.  His righteousness overpowers transgression.  His holiness is not polluted by the sin of this world.  He is in His holy temple and He is not threatened.  
Isaiah saw Him there.  In Isaiah 6:1, “I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”  And the seraphim were there and they covered their eyes because of God’s holiness and they cried, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”  God is above it all.  Isaiah spoke of Him there again in 57:15 as “the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy” and God said, “I dwell in the high and holy place.”  God is above all of your problems.  He dwells in eternal holiness.  Though the foundations of this world may quake, God is not moved.  
I cannot think of a man who lived this more than Stephen.  He was the first deacon and the first martyr of the early church.  In Acts 7 he preached to an assembly of Jewish leaders and told them that they killed the Messiah.  He said to them that they were stiff-necked and stubborn people who were resisting the Holy Spirit and that God’s judgment would come upon them.  He spoke the truth.  The Bible says they “gnashed their teeth at him, charged at him and stoned him to death.”  Their bow was bent, and they shot their arrows.  What could be more hopeless than being pummeled with stones?  But Stephen was not discouraged.  He was not hopeless.  His face glowed with the glory of God and he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, do not charge them with this sin.”  How could he do that?  How could he face such hateful opposition, such despair, and still respond with such love?  He saw Jesus above it all.  For we are told that Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.  That he saw Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God.  
Dear friends, when you feel hopeless and discouraged.  When the enemy is moving in and the foundations of your life are being shaken.  Look to Christ and see that He is above it all.  Above your fear, above your anxiety, above your despair, above your enemies, above their ability.  Remember that God is above it all.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Testings of God Are Pure Gold.

When you need help for feelings of hopelessness know that God tests His people.  Psalm 11:5 says “the LORD tests the righteous.”  David is in the middle of a crisis.  The wicked bend their bow and shoot their arrows at him.  The only advice he seems to be receiving is to run away, “flee like a bird.”  But he knows better.  The arrows are flying.  The battle is intense.  The foundations are being destroyed.  This could create such despair.  But David is not distracted from God’s glory.  The best thing to do in the midst of this crisis is to trust God and know that He tests the righteous.  
Abraham is considered to be one of the greatest examples of a man of faith in all of Christian history.  We count him as a great man of faith mainly because of this one time in his life in which God asked him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.  Look with me in Genesis 22:2, God said to Abraham, “take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.  3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place to which God had told him.  4Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.  5And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back’.”  We will come back.  Here is the reason we recognize the great faith of Abraham.  Hebrews 11:17 tells us that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son and he believed that both he and Isaac would return because He believed that God would even raise him up from the dead.  But look further with me at Genesis 22:6, “So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.  7But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’  And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’  Then he said, ‘Look the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’”  Can you imagine anything more hopeless feeling than that?  Can you just imagine the father looking into the eyes of his little boy, knowing that he was about to slay him?  And then he strapped Isaac to the altar and raised his knife as he looked upon his only son as a sacrifice.  And of course God stopped him and blessed him for his faithfulness, but here is the point I want us to see.  In verse 1 we are told that God did all of this to “test” Abraham.  
Now there are many complexities to this narrative with Abraham and Isaac that I do not have time to address today.  But I do want you to understand this, God tests His people.  You must remember this when you feel discouraged.  When you feel hopeless.  God may be testing you.  And the Bible tells us why God tests His people.  James 1:2-4 says, “count it all joy brethren when you fall into various trials (testings), knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  When I was first saved I was discipled by an older man who would always tell me that God was testing me in some way of trial.  It took me awhile to understand what he meant and I’m still growing in my understanding of God’s testings in my life.  But here is what I have learned.  I am on a mission which is really God’s mission.  And the mission is this:  that I become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.  That I become perfect as He is perfect.  That I become complete, lacking nothing, just as Jesus.  The only way I will get there is by the purifying work that God places in my life through tests.  And so it is with all of us who are followers of Christ.  We  see opposition.  It is a test.  We feel hopeless.  God is purifying us.  We feel discouraged.  God is taking us to the next level.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Rejoicing In The Justice Of God

       When God acts finally against evil, He will reign supremely.  I do not mean to say that He will finally act, for He is acting now.  But I mean that God will one day act in finality.  Psalm 10:16 encourages us, “The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations have perished out of His land.”  His reign is eternal.  He allows nations to rule the land for a time, but His rule is forever.  People bring evil for a time, but God’s righteousness is everlasting.  He owns it all and the nations will perish.  Verse 17 tells us that He hears us, “LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble...You will cause Your ear to hear.”  The prayers of the suffering never go unheard.  God will act and He will reign.        
In Revelation 6:10 we see Jesus opening the seals of the scroll as judgment is being poured out upon those wicked people who have opposed the saints.  In verse 9 the fifth seal is opened and it contains the cry of the martyrs.  Those dear people who “had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held” and their question is this, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood?”  Their question is the same as Psalm 10.  It is the same for us.  God, how long will you allow this evil to continue?  The rest of the book is God’s powerful judgment being poured out upon the earth.  Seals of judgment are opened.  Trumpets of judgment are blown.  Bowls of judgment are poured out.  The devil and the Antichrist are cast into Hell.  He will finally deal with evil, and He will do it omnipotently, mightily.  And please notice the cry of the saints at the end of these divine judgments.  Revelation 18:20 says, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”  God will act.  God will reign.  And we will rejoice.  He will avenge every affliction we have suffered.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Reflecting Upon Jonathan Edwards

I don't remember who provided this summary of the famous sermon, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God" but I give them thanks.  This is always worth reflecting upon.


Edward’s Eleven Points - “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Most of the sermon's text consists of eleven “considerations.” They are:
  1. God may cast wicked men into hell at any given moment.
  2. The Wicked deserve to be cast into hell. Divine justice does not prevent God from destroying the Wicked at any moment.
  3. The Wicked, at this moment, suffer under God's condemnation to Hell.
  4. The Wicked, on earth - at this very moment - suffer the torments of Hell. The Wicked must not think, simply because they are not physically in Hell, that God (in Whose hand the Wicked now reside) is not - at this very moment - as angry with them as He is with those miserable creatures He is now tormenting in hell, and who - at this very moment - do feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.
  5. At any moment God shall permit him, Satan stands ready to fall upon the Wicked and seize them as his own.
  6. If it were not for God's restraints, there are, in the souls of wicked men, hellish principles reigning which, presently, would kindle and flame out into hellfire.
  7. Simply because there are not visible means of death before them, at any given moment, the Wicked should not, therefore, feel secure.
  8. Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or to think that others may care for them, men should not think themselves safe from God's wrath.
  9. All that wicked men may do to save themselves from Hell's pains shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Christ.
  10. God has never promised to save us from Hell, except for those contained in Christ through the covenant of Grace.
  11. The wicked shall not escape the wrath of God unless they repent.

Friday, July 8, 2011

What Happens When We Die?

What Happens When We Die?
It is one of the major questions asked in this life.  Every persons wonders.  Every person will know.  What happens when the last breath leaves the body?  We see the body of another, cold and dead, but where is his soul?  What happens when we die?  The Bible speaks very clearly on this issue of utmost importance.  God, who not only inhabits eternity, but also rules over it, distinguishes between those who are His followers and those who are not.  The eternal destiny of His children is different than that of those who continue in their rebellion against Him.  Every person who comes to God through faith in Jesus Christ enjoys eternal life whereas those who do not...will not.  The one who receives the saving work of Christ by faith is promised eternal glory, victory, and joy.  The one who rejects salvation through faith in Christ also has eternal existence but it is everlasting death, torment, and suffering.  The Bible delineates the difference in the following ways.
First, eternity for the believer in Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”   The human constitution exists of body and soul.  Upon death the body of a child of God is placed in the grave but the soul goes to heaven into the presence of the Lord.  Our bodies return to the dust from which we came and it is a humble reminder of the brevity of life on earth.  Immediately our souls are brought into the presence of our glorified God just as Jesus promised the thief on the cross, “today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)  The Psalmist anticipated the same eternal destiny in Psalm 73:24, “You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”   The Apostle Peter comforted believers with the promise of “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:4)  At the end of his life, Paul excitedly looked forward to his life after death in which he anticipated a “crown of righteousness laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me.” (2 Timothy 4:8)  As Jesus stood at the tomb and wept over the death of His friend Lazarus, He spoke to the assembled crowd and said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though He may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)  After that statement He called Lazarus out of the grave.  But this is not all for the follower of Christ.             
The Bible also speaks of a day of resurrection.  This is the time in which our bodies will be gloriously reunited with our souls in a resurrected state.  The soul of a believer lives in Heaven with God until the day that Jesus comes again.  When Jesus comes again the body of the Christian will be resurrected to live in a glorified and perfected state forever.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  Paul continues in verse 18 by saying that we should comfort each other with these words of hope, knowing that we will one day be completely victorious over sin and the grave by the power of Christ.  Even in the ancient writings of Job we find that he had the same hope of resurrection.  Job 19:25-26 says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.”  The Bible speaks repeatedly of a glorious day in which the body and soul of every follower of Christ will be perfected in righteousness and the great enemies of humanity, namely sin and death, will be ultimately defeated.
Second, eternity for those who do not believe in Christ.  Hell is the eternal dwelling place of every person that does not receive the work that Jesus accomplished in His death on the cross.  He died to receive the judgment we deserve for the sin that we have committed against the holy God.  Any person who refuses the truth of His saving work will stand on his own before God’s holy justice.  The non-believer has no mediator, no one to receive his judgment, other than himself.  John 3:36 states, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  The one who does not believe in the Son of God also has the human constitution of body and soul.  This person’s body will also be returned to the ground when he dies.  But his soul will not go to Heaven, it will go to Hell.  2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 says all of those who “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ will be punished with everlasting destruction.”  Jesus said in Matthew 25:41 that He will say to those who did not serve Him by serving others in need, “Depart from Me, you cursed (ones), into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” and in verse 46 they “will go away into everlasting punishment.”  When Jesus described the final judgment of God, He said that sinners will be “cast into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42, 50)  Jesus described Hell in His story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16.  When the Rich Man died he went to Hell.  It is a place of “torment” and “flame” (vs. 24, 25, 28) with eternal consequence and no way out, for there is a “great gulf fixed” which “no one can pass” (vs. 26).  Psalm 9:17 states very plainly what happens to the wicked when they die, “The wicked shall be turned into hell.”
The coming day of resurrection is for everyone.  Resurrection for the believer in Christ is perfection and glory.  Resurrection for the non-believer is torment and shame.  Daniel 12:2 communicates this truth, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”  Every individual body will be reunited with every individual soul and will dwell in this state for all eternity.  Jesus spoke of this great event to be fulfilled when He comes again in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
The Apostle Paul cherished this truth as he declared in Acts 24:15, “I have hope in God...that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.”
The soul of the person who dies in Christ will go to Heaven.  The soul of the person who dies without Christ will go to Hell.  Each person will be reunited with their body at the time of Christ’s return in the event of resurrection.  The body and soul of the person in Christ will rule and reign for all eternity with God in their glorified and perfected state.  The body and soul of the person without Christ will exist in perpetual pain, torment, and shame in Hell.  The final chapters of the Bible summarize these truths.  Revelation 20 says that the Devil will be cast into the lake of fire and will be “tormented day and night forever and ever.”  (vs. 10) And “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”  This is what happens to those who die without Jesus.  Revelation 21 says God will “make all things new” (vs. 5) for the Christian and “He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.  And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain.” (vs. 3-4)  This is what happens to those who die with Jesus.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Blessings of Mercy

Let’s begin with a riddle.  What is the one thing we desperately need from God, want other people to give us, but rarely like to give to others?  It is mercy.  Mercy is an amazing idea that means to withhold that which is deserved.  In our case with God, He has withheld the judgment that we deserved due to our regular rebellion against His truth and universal laws.  This mercy is only applicable for those people who are in Christ by genuine faith as Ephesians 2:4 says, “God, who is rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”  It is not that God has removed His judgment upon this rebellion but that He has removed it from all those who believe in Christ and that He has placed their judgment upon Jesus.  We find this articulated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us…” and 1 Peter 2:24, “who Himself(Jesus) bore our sins in His own body on the tree” and Isaiah 53:6, “the LORD laid on Him (Christ) the iniquity of us all.”  So the Bible states very clearly that God has provided what we desperately need from Him, namely mercy. 

We would also like for other people to be merciful to us.  We would like for them to withhold any judgment that we might deserve in the relationship.  Nobody likes to be criticized no matter how well deserved the criticism may be.  Not one spouse wishes the other would keep a list of every wrongdoing in their marriage, but rather we want the other to forgive and forget.  We want mercy.  A wise husband knows how to answer certain questions asked by his wife regarding her hair, weight, clothing, etc.  He better answer mercifully!  Imagine what life would be like if all the people you know inflicted vengeance upon you for all the wrongs you have done and for all the good you left undone.  Thank God for divine mercy and for the mercy which comes from others. 

Still another question must be asked for further reflection.  Why do we receive so much mercy from God and deeply want others to be merciful unto us but still withhold mercy from others?  Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  There is a correlation between mercy received and mercy extended.  Those who have obtained mercy (from God) will be filled with mercy (toward others) and will therefore experience a state of blessedness.  Those who are filled with mercy (toward others) will obtain mercy (from God).  Clearly stated the point is, mercy received results in mercy extended.  It is this truth that allows us to lay down our right to punish or hurt others.  You have noticed that hurting people like to hurt others.  They must not realize how merciful God is to them.  The issue for a Christian is not whether or not we have the right to be angry or vengeful, but will we follow the example of our God who is rich in mercy and therefore enjoy true blessedness.  This is the blessing of mercy.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Is Jesus The Only Way To God?

Is Jesus The Only Way To God?
It sounds like a very narrow statement to say that nobody can know God unless they come to Him through Jesus Christ, and indeed this statement excludes many.  Are Christians being unfairly exclusive to make such a claim?  Is this a statement of arrogance from elitist Christians or is it the truth of God?
If Christians believed that faith in Christ is the only way to God and they refused to share that with others then we would certainly have a clear example of spiritual arrogance.  However, while Christians believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to God they do not believe that this faith is not available for others.  The same people who are accused of narrow-minded arrogance are the same people who give freely of their resources for the sake of others.  Followers of Christ give time, money, even their lives so that others may hear this message of good news.  It is precisely because of Christian love for others and concern for their eternal destiny that we strive to be the hands of God’s grace working among humanity with this message of reconciliation for all peoples.
This statement of exclusivity is not initiated by some group of Christian elitists but is the clear testimony of Scripture:
  • Acts 4:12 states, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  After having been arrested for preaching the gospel of Jesus and then released, Peter and John were told by the Sanhedrin that they must cease proclaiming the message of Christ.  Peter responds with this statement of deepest conviction by saying that he could not be silenced regarding Jesus because there is no other name in all the universe by which men can be saved other than the name of Jesus.  This deep and cherished belief eventually cost Peter his life as he died a martyr’s death for the sake of the gospel.  The great apostle recognized that only Jesus had paved the way to God and only faith in Him could save men from their sins.
  • 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”  The word “mediator” means one who works for the sake of two parties to bring peace and restoration to a broken relationship.  This is exactly what Jesus has done in His sacrificial death on the cross.  We were separated from God because of our own personal rebellion against His commands.  The relationship between God and humanity was severed and in need of a mediator.  The Bible says Jesus has come to provide that mediation and all who receive His peacemaking work by faith are restored to a right relationship with God.
  • 1 John 2:23 states, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”  The Bible clearly explains in this passage that there is an indivisible union between knowing God the Father and Jesus.  To deny the Son of God (Jesus) is to not have the Father but to acknowledge (know, receive) the Son is to also know the Father.  The plain truth of this text is that there is no way to know God without knowing Jesus.
  • John 14:6 may be the most convincing verse of all regarding the exclusivity of Christ.  It states, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  These words were originally written in the Greek language, which like English has a definite article (the) and two indefinite articles (a, an).  The method of using the indefinite articles (a, an) in Greek is to simply omit the definite article (the) which is the way this was written in the original text.  So to simplify the point let me say that Jesus could have easily said, “I am a way, a truth, a life.”  But He didn’t say that at all.  He said, “I am the way, the truth, the life.”  In other words Jesus said that He is the only way to God, the only truth of God, and the only life from God.  There is no way to God outside of Him.  And then to emphasize His point He adds another statement, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”    
Anyone can now see that the claim of Christians that Jesus is the only way to God is not a statement of elite narrow-mindedness invented by theologians but is the clear testimony of the Bible.  But does this simply transfer the blame of arrogance from Christians to Christ Himself?  Are Christians proclaiming a message of narrow arrogance or does Jesus have the right to claim that He is the only way to God?    
The credibility of Jesus is on trial by many but please consider the fact that Jesus lived a perfect life.  Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  Even the Roman centurion responsible for the crucifixion of Christ said, “certainly this was a righteous man.”  (Luke 23:47)  And there was also Pontius Pilate who officiated a trial immediately before the murder of Jesus who said, “I find no fault in Him.” (John 19:6).  Jesus speaks not only as a good moral teacher but also as the one man in history who fulfilled a perfect moral life in every point.  As the only sinless man to have ever lived His words are credible pertaining to the way to God.
Please also consider that Jesus died a perfect death.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us”.  Isaiah 53:6 says, “the LORD has laid on Him (Christ) the iniquity of us all”.  1 Peter 2:24 says that Jesus, “bore our sins in His own body on the tree” and “God set (Jesus) forth as a propitiation by His blood” in Romans 3:25.  Propitiation is a really nice word to explain that the wrath of the holy God has been appeased in the death of Jesus for all those who believe in Him.  We deserve judgment for our rebellion against God and the judgment we deserve has been poured out upon Jesus.  No other man in history has died as a substitute to save humanity from their sins.  Many teachers have offered profitable advice but no one has the credibility of Christ as Savior who died to save men.
There is also the historical fact that Christ rose from the dead.  They took His dead body off of the cross and buried him in the tomb of a wealthy man named Joseph.  It took several men to roll the large stone over the opening of that rock-hewn grave and they then placed the Roman seal over that stone to ensure uninterrupted protection of the site.  There were then Roman soldiers installed to guard the tomb.  This was on Friday evening and Saturday things remained the same.  But on Sunday morning something previously unknown to man miraculously occurred.  Jesus Christ rose from the dead and left that tomb empty.  The Jewish leaders bribed the guards and instructed them to say that Jesus‘ followers had stolen the body while they were sleeping.  But all they had to do to disprove the resurrection of Christ was provide His body, and they never could.  Then there were all of the hundreds and hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive after He very clearly had died and been buried.  All the opponents of Jesus need do then to disprove the resurrection of Christ was to coerce these witnesses into recanting their faith and profess they had lied.  Even in the most intense persecutions  and executions these martyrs went to their death professing Jesus is alive while praying for their persecutors.  Would you die for a lie?  I wouldn’t and neither did they.  The simple and miraculous truth is that Jesus rose from the dead and is today the living savior.  The unanimous profession of Christ’s followers was and still is, “He is risen!”  No other man has ever accomplished so much.  He lived a perfect life, died a perfect death, and rose from the dead.  Therefore He speaks with perfect credibility when He claims to be the only way to God.  Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”