Why Do We Believe In and Follow Christ?
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Christianity has flourished over the last 2,000 years since it began soon after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the center point of the Christian creed, and it is in Jesus that Christians put their faith and hope. While Jesus walked this earth, His mission involved urging people to believe and follow Him.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’” (John 7:37-38).
This invitation is still at the heart of the Gospel and becoming a Christian – to believe in Jesus and follow Him. We believe and follow Jesus because it was He who has done what no other has done. He died to save the world, He invites us to believe, He invites us to follow, and He is the only way to the Father.
Who Is Jesus?
To understand why we believe and follow Jesus, it is vital to understand who Jesus is.
From the Bible, we know that Jesus walked this earth around 2,000 years ago. He was from a small town called Nazareth, and He was born to a virgin named Mary. He had 12 disciples who walked away from the lives they were living to follow Him. They came to believe that He was the Messiah.
We know that after three years of ministry, Jesus was arrested, wrongly accused, and sentenced to death. He was beaten and nailed to a cross on which he died.
It is not simply information about Jesus that has captivated generations of people, but rather, it is what Jesus claimed about Himself, along with His miraculous resurrection, that has propelled millions and millions of people around the world to believe and follow Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).
Scripture declares with boldness the truth that Jesus is God. He was sent by the Father to take away the sins of the world (see John 1:29). Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, foretold by the prophets, who resurrected from the grave to conquer sin and death. Through Jesus all was created and through Him the only way to the Father is found. Jesus brought salvation, redemption, and eternal life.
Jesus Came to Save the World
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).
Christians believe and follow because Jesus was sent by God the Father to save the world. The Gospel accounts teach that Jesus ministered for three years, preached and taught, sent out His disciples, and transformed lives through conversations, healings, and miracles performed.
God’s great love for humanity was shown through Jesus, who came to save the world from death. He did not come for His own glory, nor to live a comfortable life in royal palaces, nor to be served. Instead, Jesus came to love, humbly serve, and save the world through a gruesome death on the cross and resurrection. Jesus defeated sin and death, and these no longer have a grip on those who put their faith in Him.
The message of Jesus is the Good News that inspires people to give their hearts and lives to Him.
He Invites Us to Believe
“Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:14-15).
Christians believe because Jesus invites us to believe. Jesus’ heart and hope is for people to repent and to believe that He is the Son of God bringing the good news of salvation. This was His message for three years on His way to the cross before He laid down His life to die for the sins of all humanity.
Jesus began with an invitation to come and believe in Him. Jesus longs for as many people as possible to have a saving belief in Him. Before He departed from the earth, He left His disciples with the great commission. They were to go into all nations, telling people about Him and making more disciples, and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
Jesus began the work of helping people believe and passed on the torch of this important mission to His disciples, and all Christians.
Jesus Invites Us to Follow
“Then [Jesus] said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23).
Christians follow because Jesus invites us to follow. Jesus did not just invite people to believe, but also to follow Him. With faith in Jesus comes empowerment through the Holy Spirit to live the ways of Jesus and partner with Him in furthering His kingdom.
Following Jesus means denying ourselves and living for His glory instead. Following Jesus will be hard and there will be a cost, but through Him is eternal life. Jesus gives hope, light, and peace to those who follow Him. Jesus loves humanity profoundly; so much so that He went to the cross and laid down His life. Jesus did the unimaginable so that humanity would know God and have the chance to believe, follow, and enjoy eternal life.
Jesus Is the Only Way to the Father
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
Christians believe and follow because Jesus is the only way to the Father. Some believe that there are many paths or religions that all lead to the one true God. However, from the mouth of Jesus we learn that this is not true. There is only one way to the real God and that is through Jesus Christ. He alone is the way, truth, and life.
We cannot save ourselves. False gods or other religions cannot save anyone. Only Jesus has given up His life, satisfied the debt of sin, and overcame death so that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. God did not want humanity to simply perish and be eternally apart from Him. He made a way, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, for humanity to be saved. As a result, all have the opportunity to believe and follow Jesus.
Good News for All
Understanding who Jesus is makes sense of why millions and millions of Christians throughout hundreds of generations have chosen to believe and follow Him. Christians throughout history and around the globe believe and follow Jesus because He has invited them to do so. It was Jesus who saved the world by His death on a cross and made it known that He alone is the way to the Father and eternal life.
Jesus spent His final years sharing the Good News of salvation through Him. His ministry testified to who He was and the love He had for humanity. It is the Good News shared that moves people to believe and follow Jesus.
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