Why Should I Entrust Myself to Jesus?

Having risen this morning with the Son well before the sun has peaked above the horizon, I have come back to this question asked to everyone who attended CrossWay Community Church on Sunday. Pastor Mike Bullmore asked us to consider why we would actually commit ourselves to Jesus Christ and follow Him.

As a musician, I know the importance of fundamentals. If I don’t practice scales and articulation exercises and breathing exercises, I will not be as successful when it comes time to play real music. It is always good to go back to the fundamentals no matter how skilled at something we become.

It is no different with our faith as Christians. And the question, “Why should I entrust myself to Jesus?” is a fundamental question that is good to return to. It begs us to search the deepest reaches of our hearts to find comfort. Even when the world (and possibly our loved ones) claims to offer a better alternative, as Christians, we know through experience that Jesus Christ is the only source of life. Christ always comes through. He is faithful and unchanging.

Why? Why should I entrust myself to Jesus Christ?

Because Jesus is the one true God who emptied Himself and came to earth in human form. He didn’t allow perfect fellowship with the Godhead to blind Him from seeing the hopeless state of the people He created. He humbled Himself to come live the life that we were supposed to live in obedience to God. He lived perfectly, and yet He died as a criminal with spikes pounded through His hands and feet. Jesus Christ is the only one in history that can stand before the Judge and claim to be innocent. All men fall short of that claim and not one will utter it when God lays our lives before us. But, Christ died for our sins, the righteous for the ungodly, the innocent for the guilty, the Son for the enemies.

I was bought at a price too steep for understanding. Because I am loved by God. No expense was spared for my freedom, even though my crimes were severe enough to warrant nothing but wrath.

Christian, have you returned lately to the greatest fundamental of your faith: the Gospel? Has it ever really sunk in that Christ emptied Himself so that you might have life?

Has it changed how you live?

Following Jesus costs us a lot. It costs us everything. But the price that Jesus paid for us is infinitely greater than what it costs us to follow Him. He is worth it. And He would not have laid down His life if He did not find you worth dying for.

Before I close, I must admit to using a flawed analogy. I have found little joy in the playing of scales and arpeggios on trumpet. I haven’t left the practice room with a glad heart from spending an hour of my life working on A-flat harmonic minor. With musical fundamentals, one has to look beyond them to the music to find sweetness.

It is not so with the Gospel. In fact, it is just the opposite. All sweetness flows from the Gospel! The Gospel is the source of all joy and peace. The Gospel is not a fundamental that we come back to when life is getting sloppy or out of synch. The Gospel is ultimate truth. Our understanding of God’s love for us will only grow as our depth of understanding the Gospel grows. We need the Gospel! We needed it to be saved, and we need it to be made like Jesus!

Consider the statements of these spiritual “giants.”

C.J. Mahaney said that only one thing can be most important to us in life and only the Gospel ought to be.

Martin Luther said, “The truth of the Gospel is the principal article of all Christian doctrine….Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.”

The apostle Paul (from the Word of God) said, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…”

If you have stalled in holiness, become stuck in routine, or become bored with life, turn your focus to the Gospel and experience the joy of Christ as if for the first time. For each time we return to Christ, we come as needy as when we first came. And we come to an infinite fountain of goodness that never runs dry. There is unmatched excitement in the Good News of Jesus Christ. Joy is his who comes thirsty for God.

Why entrust myself to Jesus?

Borrowing Tim Keller’s words, because I am moved by the sight of what it cost to bring me home.

Are you moved?