What You Need to Know About Jesus (Especially If You’re Not a Believer)
I grew up in a Christian household, going to church all my life, but it took me a long time to understand a few foundational truths about God that impact the way you choose (or choose not) to follow him.
It’s not merely enough to think to yourself, “Yep: Jesus is real,” and then move on. There’s more to it than that.
I’m guessing many people don’t know (or know, even if you “know”) some of the stuff I want to articulate below, so it felt like a good place to start (what I hope will become) a few blogs on the topic of my faith.
Why does any of this matter?
Well, maybe it’s important just to know where we’re starting if we can have any hope of ending up somewhere different.
I’m going to die someday. So are you! None of us knows how much time we have left; best not to assume too much.
Following Jesus, I believe, is the only way to secure your eternal destiny in Heaven. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” is what Jesus says in John 14:6. That doesn’t leave room for other religions or beliefs.
But there’s plenty more to following Jesus, and tons of it that will impact you immediately here on earth: freedom of guilt and shame, a higher purpose for your life, a peace and joy deep in your soul that cannot be easily disturbed. There’s plenty more, but those are 3 of the biggies.
If you want access to that, I have good news for you. A lot of good news for you, in fact. Read on.
Here are the 6 things I think it’s important everyone knows about Jesus if you aren’t a follower right now.
1. It is Never Too Late to Come to Jesus
I know people in their 20s(!!) that have waved off the thought of a life chasing after Jesus because they think they are too old and too sinful to be saved from their sin.
Wrong! Absolutely wrong.
The Apostle Paul—who wrote at least 13 books of the Bible—had spent much of his life as Saul, a Jewish man who was extremely dogmatic and persecuted Christians for their faith; actively seeking to destroy the church. It was on a trip to Damascus that he had a revelation, being blinded by God, and only later receiving back his sight at the same time he received the Holy Spirit of God.
Paul routinely described himself as the chief of sinners because he had sinned so much against God. He was empowered to turn that around and became absolutely foundational to scripture itself.
What I’m getting at here: if Paul of all people could be saved and used as an instrument for God’s glory, so can you!
Read your Bible. It is absolutely littered with broken people whom God used to be a light to the world. If God only accepted perfect people, he’d have literally no one (except Jesus, who is equal parts man and God).
Let me be clear: There is hope for you. As long as you are living and breathing, there is hope for your soul! It is never too late. Stop delaying.
2. There’s a Difference Between Passive & Active Belief
In public school, I had a passive belief in Jesus & the Bible. Most of my friends did too. What I mean by this is: I never denied (or disbelieved) that Jesus was God; but I definitely did absolutely nothing to actively pursue Jesus in my daily life. It’s the equivalent to knowing you have a distant family member, but never ever making any effort to get to know them. You don’t really know them, just because you vaguely know about them.
In my mind, I was a Christian. I knew John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever should believe in him will not perish but have eternal life,”). I believed, or so I thought. But there was no evidence of my belief beyond what I thought in my head.
In reality, actively following Jesus means:
You’ve realized how broken and sinful you (we all!) are
You recognize Jesus Christ is exactly who he says he is and did what he says he did: Equal parts Man and God, who came to earth (through the immaculate conception of Mary) to live a sinless life, dying on the cross to pay the debt of sinful humanity, and three days later rose again—proving even death could not hold him—before ascending to Heaven in glory
You make the decision to repent (read: turn away from) your sinful ways in an act of devotion to God
You pray a special prayer that declares these things deep in your heart to Jesus in a life-changing moment: “Jesus! I am a sinner! Have mercy on me! I don’t want to live like this any more! Forgive me! Help me follow your ways! Save me from my sin!”
Although not necessary to Salvation (Catholics would disagree), you are also then called to become baptized as an outward symbol of an inward change, making a public and unashamed declaration of your faith, and begin pursuing Christ at every avenue within your life.
And from that point on, you live your life in devotion to God not because of guilt or shame, but because you are so changed by the love and incredible sacrifice Jesus made to pay the price for your sins that you can’t help but live proudly for him. If you are truly following Jesus, it should be very evident in your life by anyone around you. (Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is a great place to start.)
As you can see, these two ways of living are entirely opposite from one another, despite both sharing a belief that Jesus is who he says he is. That fact alone is not merely enough.
3. No, Jesus Doesn’t Just Want You to “Be a Good Person”
Say you “don’t want to go as far” as to do all of the above I just listed. Say you only want to be a good person, because that’s ultimately what Jesus wants anyways, right?
Wrong on a few counts; two major ones.
1. Salvation by Works VS Salvation by Faith
First: this is called Salvation by Works as opposed to Salvation by Faith. It is an important Christian doctrine (belief) that your salvation (the saving of your soul from eternity in hell) can only come by believing in Jesus Christ (Remember John 3:16 we were just quoting).
John 3:16 doesn’t say, “…that whoever acts really really good shall not perish…”; no. It says, “…that whoever believes in him…”. And remember that the entire last point was explaining what active, true belief actually looks like!
Salvation by Works is the opposite belief that you are saved and permitted to Heaven by earning it. It is imperative you understand this: you cannot earn your salvation. Period. Ever. The best person that you’ve ever known could never earn their salvation. It can only be accepted as a free gift from God.
Salvation by Faith, on the other hand, is becoming saved solely through your belief in Jesus. It is not dependent on how good or bad you are—and you realize that. This is what Salvation by Faith is.
2. Forgiveness of Your Sins
Second: you’re putting the cart before the horse here. Your good works (“good person”-ship) doesn’t precede your faith in Jesus, it is your faith in Jesus that produces your good works.
You cannot be absolved of your guilt, forgiven of your sins, and washed clean in the (metaphorical) blood of Jesus if you do not profess your faith in Jesus Christ. It is not enough. This goes right back to Active VS Passive faith. Being a “good person” is just passive faith in disguise.
Also, remember those quick benefits I gave (in addition to the security of your eternal fate) earlier in this blog? Namely:
Freedom of guilt and shame
A higher purpose for your life
A peace and joy deep in your soul that is not easily disturbed
(among countless others)
Those things can only come through active belief in Jesus: not by trying to be a good person.
Being a good person will make you feel good for a while, but it wears off. It’s never enough (like everything in this world). You need what only God can provide. And you can only get it through faith and through faith alone: not good works.
4. Jesus is the Only Purpose in Life Worth Pursuing
I’m lucky to say I’ve excelled at my day job because I actively work hard at not being offended when someone wants to correct me or show me how I’m wrong. Why am I able to do this so gneuinely and easily?
Because my identity is not attached to my job—or any job I’ve ever had. It is found in Christ alone, and that can’t be taken from you in a board room meeting.
And while your day job is a primary place a lot of people find meaning in purpose in life, it is not the only. Here are a couple major places people find meaning in their life:
Their marriage
Parenthood
Volunteering their time
Living simply / minimalistic
Perceived status / wealth
A hobby or passion
I could go on. You get the idea, and I know you could add a whole bunch of your own bullet points to that list.
The problem with all of these things is that they will all eventually let you down. They are not enough! And I say that as a person who definitely finds a lot of my life’s purpose in those things.
But because my identity as a follower of Christ / child of God is #1 on my list, everything that follows it is held in proper tension and priority.
Here’s what I’m telling you my friends: the things of this life are going to disappoint you. Everything will come to pass away. God is the only thing that will not.
The Richest Men in the World
A small but related sidebar: At the time I’m writing this, all the richest men in the world (I’ll identify 3: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk) have all recently divorced / separated from their significant others. I’m going to reiterate: these are the richest men in the world, who could hardly ever outspend their wealth if they lived an even semi-restrained life of a billionaire.
Their marriages were unhappy. And we know that their marriage is not the only problem in their lives. I won’t make a list, but a quick Google search will show you all you need.
If these guys have all the money you can dream of and they are still unhappy, what does that tell you about how satisfying money really is?
I am guilty of this too: we get caught up pursuing money because it provides us security and freedom and it grants us many of the desires of our hearts. I am not saying money is outright wrong: we need some of it to survive. But it should not be the ultimate goal you are chasing. Plenty of people richer than us have achieved unimaginable wealth and still are missing something.
5. You Can’t Avoid This Topic Forever
Let me assure you, there will be no pleading ignorance to God when we die.
Hebrews 10:26-27 says, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound very good.
You are accountable for yourself, my friend. I beg you to take these words seriously. I have no doubt in my mind—if you have read this far—there is something in you that is longing to know more. You may be feeling a sense of unsettlement in your gut; maybe stress. Do not abandon that. Explore it. Pursue that thought and you will find the answer.
Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.“
Salvation can be yours today!
How do I choose to actively follow Jesus?
Refer back to argument #2 where I outline the process of coming to Jesus. But what I would strongly suggest is tell someone after you have committed your life to Christ, because you are likely to retreat from this decision if you do not let someone know.
The first little while of following Jesus is both exhilarating and terrifying. It is starting a journey where you do not know the path. We are creatures of habit and it is easy to fall back into your life before.
On a practical note, here are a few quick things to do after you commit your life to Christ:
Tell someone. It bears repeating. Specifically: tell someone who is also a Christian. Let it be me if you know no one else! It would be a phenomenal honour of my life to walk alongside you for this first part of your Christian journey.
Get a Bible. Even if you have one, get a new one. I will e-Transfer you the money if you can’t afford it. Start in the book of Matthew (first book of the New Testament) if you don’t know where to go (I wouldn’t recommend starting in Genesis), or follow the next step.
Download the YouVersion app on your phone + start a reading plan. There are so many, and many don’t take more than 5-10 minutes a day. It will be food for your soul. There’s a plan for every person. Please find one.
Start praying. You have a direct line to the Creator of the Universe. Don’t forget it!! God wants us to pray constantly. Start. You don’t have to “be good at it.” He just wants to hear from you.
In Summary
It’s my hope that this blog has stirred up something within you. 13 years ago this fall I gave my life to Christ, and I have never turned back. I have always felt the Holy Spirit upon me (even before my Salvation moment), but now more than ever I feel the Holy Spirit pouring into me.
You have access to this very same experience that I had. I beg you to consider it. Don’t let this moment slip you by like so many before have.
It is not too late for you, my friend. It is not too late.
Addendum: What does Jesus say about ______?
Here’s what I know to be true: A lot of would-be Christians choose not to follow Jesus because they’ve been hurt by the church, or they disagree with mainline stance on Abortion, or women’s rights, or what have you. I am not here to minimize those things, because I absolutely believe every Christian should be able to (eventually) give an account for them and answer common questions about our belief, but this is what I will say:
These differences should not be enough to stunt your pursuit of Christ. If you truly, thoughtfully engage with some of these beliefs, I think you may come to realize why they exist.
I will endeavour to answer this question more thoroughly in a future blog, but this one is already quite long enough and it really warrants its own individual effort.
