An Introduction to Jesus – Dr. Charles Stanley

The apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia that God sent His Son to rescue us, so that we’d no longer be slaves to this world but sons and daughters of the King (Gal. 4:4-7). Jesus came to earth as a human being to identify with our struggles and to redeem us from sin through His sacrifice on the cross. Dr. Stanley uses Scripture to answer common questions about Jesus. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to https://intouch.org/watch

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male announcer: In Touch,
the teaching ministry of

Dr. Charles Stanley.

Next on “In Touch,”
“An Introduction to Jesus.”

♪♪♪

Dr. Stanley: When you hear the
name Jesus, what comes to mind?

Well, I can tell you what’ll
come to mind–depends upon what

you think about Him, how much
you know about Him

and what kind of relationship
you have with Him.

Now many people have a wonderful
relationship with Jesus.

He’s their Savior,
Lord and Master.

Many other people, when
they hear His name,

they’re turned off.

I wonder why anybody would turn
off the name of Jesus

when He’s the Son of God,
when He never made a mistake.

He never sinned.

And even the people who just
hate His name do not say,

“I hate Him because He did this
or He did that.”

But it’s something deep down
inside of them that would cause

them not to appreciate and to
love the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, I’d ask you this.

What do you think about?

What place does He have in your
life?

If somebody should ask you,
“Who is this Jesus?”

What would you say?

Would you say, “Well, He’s the
Savior of the world.

He’s the Lord.

I trust in Him as my
personal Savior.

I have eternal life and He’s
with me every day.

He heals me in my sickness
and answers my prayers

and He’s in heaven
and that’s who I think He is.”

If that’s all you can say,
you have a lot to learn.

This morning, the primary
purpose of this message is

simply this: To give you an
understanding

of who is this Jesus?

So, when somebody confronts you
or when somebody says,

“You know, I don’t believe in
Him,” and usually,

they can’t tell you why.

I want to give you some reasons
why you can tell them why you

believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, the only Savior

there is, unlike any and all
other religious figures.

And He is the King of all kings
and one day we’ll all stand

before Him as our judge.

Why do we believe that?

So, I want to ask you to get
your Bible out.

And if you’re at home, get
yourself a pencil and a piece of

paper or a pen and I want to
encourage you to write down the

headings of this message
and also the scriptures.

Now I’m not going to tell you to
write down everything

we’re going to say
about the scriptures,

but just jot them down.

And then be honest enough to ask
yourself the question,

“Who is this Jesus
that I believe in?”

Or, “who is this Jesus I have
rejected all of my life?”

And first of all, I want
to say that

Jesus lived before He was
conceived in His mother’s womb.

He lived before He was
conceived in His mother’s womb.

He was pre-existent.

That is, before His birth
He existed.

So, let’s go back to the very
first book of the Bible and

let’s go back to the very first
chapter in the Bible, and listen

to what he says in the
twenty-sixth verse.

Then God said,
having described

this creation, “Let Us
make man in Our image,

according to
Our likeness;

and let them rule
over the fish of the sea,

the birds of the sky,
over the cattle

and over all the earth,
and over every

living thing that
creeps on the earth.”

Well, let me ask you
a question.

Who is “Us”?

Somebody says, “Well, angels.”
No, angels don’t create

anything.

When God said, “Let Us,” He
could not mean but one

thing–God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit.

The thruh–the three persons
that make up the Trinity

that is one God.

“Let Us make man
in Our image.”

So, if you will turn
to John chapter one

for a moment and
let’s look what

John says about Jesus.

And notice, and I want to
explain a couple of words or so

here, he says, verse one
of chapter one,

“In the beginning
was the Word.”

And the way John said this, he
said it in a very perfect way.

When he uses the term “word”
here it means when he says,

“In the beginning
was the Word.”

It doesn’t mean something
happened back there.

But in the beginning of time,
Jesus was there.

He’d been there
in eternity past.

He didn’t just start there.

Listen to what he says, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the

Word was with God, and the Word
was God.”

Jesus is referred to here as,

“The Word, and He was
with God, and He was God.”

So, the claim here
as John says,

that He and the Father were one.

And we’ll come to that later.

He was in the beginning
with God.

And, “All things came into being
through Him, and apart from Him

nothing came into being that has
come into being.

In Him was life, and the life
was the Light of men.

The Light shines
in the darkness,

and the darkness did
not comprehend it.”

Listen,
when you start with

Genesis one one
right here,

Jesus was back there
in eternity past with Him.

What other religious leader in
the world has existed before

time ever began?

None whatsoever.

That puts Jesus in a whole
different position than any

other religious leader who has
ever lived,

“In the beginning
was the Word.”

Not a dot, but a
present tense–an imperfect

tense in the Greek.

He was going on before that.

So, we say
He was born

into the world that He created.

And he said, “Apart from
Him nothing came into being.”

Look if you will
in Colossians one,

and what Paul said about Him.

Colossians one, and
just past Philippians there–and

notice what he says in this
first chapter of Colossians.

He says, speaking of Jesus
in verse fourteen,

“In whom we have redemption,”
that’s our salvation,

“the forgiveness of sins.”

Now watch this, “He is
the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of
all creation.”

I’m coming back to that.

“For by Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and

on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or

rulers or authorities–all
things have been created

through Him and for Him.”

Now what does He mean when
he says, “He was

the firstborn of all creation”?

The first, what he’s referring
to here is simply this.

In the Hebrew family, the
firstborn son he managed.

He was the one who
received the most.

And so, he–when He says, “The
firstborn of all creation.”

Jesus is the manager
of this creation.

He is head of it all.

And if you’ll notice also, all
the way over to Hebrew–go to

Hebrews for a moment, and just
that first chapter, I want you

to look at a verse or two here.

Verse one of Hebrews chapter
one, “God, after He spoke long

ago in the fathers in the
prophets in many portions and in

many ways, in these last days He
has spoken to us in His Son,”

that is in Jesus, “whom He
appointed heir of all things,

through whom also
He made the world.”

If you believe
the Word of God,

you have to believe that
Jesus Christ was in the process

with God the Father and the Holy
Spirit, making this world,

creating this world which has
such absolute design.

To believe that all of that was
by chance has absolutely no

validity whatsoever.

So, you have to decide whether
you’re going to believe what men

say and cannot prove,
or what the Bible says.

And all through the scriptures,
listen, there are no errors.

This is the Living Word of God.

And so, when we say that He was
born into a world He created,

that’s the way He did it.

And this is a world which
expresses the wisdom of God, the

power of God, the beauty of God
and the presence of God.

The third statement I want to
make is this.

Jesus was born of an earthly
mother and a Heavenly

Father–earthly mother
and a Heavenly Father.

The scripture says in Luke, that
first chapter when Gabriel and

Mary were talking, because she
said, well, “How can these

things happen since I am a
virgin

and have not been with man?”

Because it was the work of the
Heavenly Father through the Holy

Spirit, which meant that Jesus
was born of a virgin.

Had to be born of a virgin
because in being born without

man seed, He had no sin nature.

If Jesus had been born naturally
and normally, He would have had

a sin nature.

And therefore, He couldn’t die
for your sins and mine.

He’d-a would have had to die for
His own sin.

The fact that He was virgin-born
and absolutely sinless.

And somebody says, “Well, how do
you know He was sinless?”

Well, let me ask you a question.

What did He do wrong?

What sin did He commit?

What mistake did He make?

His life was perfect because it
was God in human flesh.

That’s how God came to this
earth–in human flesh.

Jesus had to be the perfect Son
of God, sinless in order to die

for your sins and mine.

God sent Him for that purpose.

He was the ultimate, final
divine sacrifice that would

be taking place at the cross,
on the cross.

And when He died, He paid your
sin debt and mine and the sins

of the whole world.

He was the only acceptable
sacrifice because He was the

only sinless sacrifice.

Animals didn’t do it.

It was the life of the Lord
Jesus.

And remember Jesus is God in the
human flesh, so He was

absolutely perfect.

He was absolutely sinless.

And therefore, that made Him an
acceptable sacrifice

in the eyes of the Father.

And He died, crucified, and we
think well the Romans did it.

No, God did it.

God sent Him to die.

The Romans were simply the ones
who nailed Him and who were the

tools for crucifying Him,
but it was God the Father who

crucified Him because
he came into this world

for that specific reason.

So, when somebody says,
“Well, I don’t believe

in the virgin birth.”

Well, you don’t believe
in the real Jesus then.

And secondly, you don’t believe
in the virgin birth because you

don’t believe the Word of God.

You don’t believe in the virgin
birth, listen, if there were no

virgin birth, you wouldn’t be
saved.

The Son of God came in order to
save us from our sins, and the

virgin birth was a part of that.

Now, another thing I want you to
notice here is this.

Jesus was both God and the Son
of God.

Now people say, “Well, how
could that possibly be?”

Well, I want you to turn to
John chapter ten for a moment.

Look in John chapter ten,
let’s go to twenty, verse

twenty-seven, Jesus speaking to
those, who were with Him,

“My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me;

I give eternal life to them, and
they will never perish; and no

one will be able to snatch them
out of My Father’s hand.”

Once you’re a child of God,
eternally a child of God.

The devil can’t get–take you
out of God’s hand.

Nothing and nobody can.

Then He says, “My Father,
who has given them to Me,

is greater than all; and
no one is able to snatch

them out of My Father’s hand.”

Look at this next verse,
“I and the Father are one.”

Did you get that?

“I and the Father are one.”

Jesus is the visible,
living God.

And notice what happened,

“The Jews picked up stones
again to stone Him.”

They could not stand
the idea

that Jesus would
claim to be God.

It was beyond their
comprehension.

Then move on over to the twelfth
chapter of John for a moment,

and I want you to look if you
will in verse forty-two.

“Nevertheless, many even of the
rulers believed in Him, but

because of the Pharisees they
were not confessing Him,

for fear that they would be put
out of the synagogue.”

Now let me just say this to you.

You should never be ashamed
of Jesus Christ–never,

under any condition, be ashamed
of Him or deny Him.

Listen, “for they loved
the approval of men

rather than the approval
of God.”

Watch this, you go to
work tomorrow;

you start talking about Jesus
or you would like to,

but you don’t because you’re
afraid of being rejected.

What you, watch this.

Are you listening?

Say amen.

You join up with those who love
approval of others

than the approval of God.

That’s exactly what they did.

“Jesus cried out and said,
“He who believes in Me,

does not believe in Me but in
Him who sent Me.”

That is, “I’m representing God.

He who sees Me sees
the One who sent Me.

He who sees Me sees
the One who sent Me.”

And if you go on over to
let’s see the fourteenth

chapter, look at the fourteenth
chapter for a moment.

And this is a wonderful
chapter about Jesus coming and

heaven and so forth, and then,
when you come down to this

seventh verse, He says, “If you
had known Me, you would have

known My Father also.”

And now He says,
“From now on you know Him,

and have seen Him.”

Philip said to Him, “Lord,
show us the Father,

and it is enough for us.”

And Jesus said to him,

“Have I been so long with you,
and yet you have not come

to know Me, Philip?

He who has seen Me
has seen the Father;

how can you say,
‘Show us the Father’?”

Because listen to this.

Jesus is the living God–the
living God in visible form so we

could have even a better
relationship with Him.

Now, Jesus’s name is like no
other name.

There’s no name like His.

And if you’ll look in
Philippians two for a moment,

and let’s start with verse nine.

“For this reason also, God
highly exalted Him, that’s Jesus

and look bestowed on Him the
name which is above every name.”

That is, God the Father gave
Jesus His name.

Je–God the Father

bestowed on Him
the name Jesus.

Gabriel told Mary
that’s to be His name.

Look at this, “Bestowed on Him
the name of Jesus

which is above every name.

So that at the name of Jesus
every knee” not might, “every

knee will bow, of those who are
in heaven on earth and under the

earth, and that every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord, to the glory of God.”

Now what does that say?

You may not like Him.

But I’m going to tell you this.

You can mark this down
because God said it.

One of these days you’re going
to confess that Jesus Christ is

the Lord no matter what you’ve
said about Him here and now.

One of these days you will bow
your knees before the Lord Jesus

Christ as your judge.

How foolish to live without Him.

You will confess Him.

You say, “Well, I’ll die before
I confess Him.”

You’ll die before
you confess Him

and go to hell on
your own choice.

It will only be because
you chose to deny.

You chose to reject the Son of
God, who is God in the flesh,

who came in visible form so you
and I could understand better

who God is and what He’s like
and all the rest, “every knee

will bow, every tongue will
confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord, to the glory of God.”

He says it will happen
and indeed it will happen.

And, for example, He says
when He sent the disciples out

preaching the gospel–made
it very clear

what that gospel was about.

And here’s what He said in that
twenty-fourth chapter of Luke,

He said, “And that repentance
for the forgiveness of sins

would be proclaimed in His name
Jesus to all the nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.”

And let’s think about this.

For example, when you were
baptized, how were you baptized?

They baptized you in
the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

You were baptized in the
Trinity–baptized in the name of

the Father, the Son,
the Holy Spirit.

Listen, the name of Jesus isn’t
just a name, it is the

name of the Living God.

It is the name of the visible
God here on earth

when He walked this earth.

And so, when you think about,
for example, when you pray in

this fourteenth chapter of
John, and He says, “Whatever

you ask in My name,” that is
you’re asking according to His

will, according to His purpose,
according to what pleases and

honors Him.

He says He’s going to answer it.

So, when we pray, He’s there.

We give thanks in His name.

We’re baptized in His name.

And then in the eighteenth
chapter of Matthew something

that’s going on right now,
in this service.

He, listen to what He says.

In verse twenty
of Matthew eighteen,

“For where two or
three have gathered together

in My name, I am there
in their midst.”

So, you and I could say,
“Good morning, Jesus,”

because He’s here.

How many times is He’s here?

He’s here in every single one of
our hearts who’s saved.

This is why we give an
invitation.

We give an invitation to invite
you to accept Jesus Christ as

your personal Savior so when you
step out of this place, Christ

is in your heart to be
everything He is

and will be in the life
of a believer.

Now, to some people
He’s just a figure.

What I want you to see is this.

Everything we’ve said up
to this point.

He’s not just a
figure–He’s God.

He is God in the flesh, who died
on the cross for our sins,

who died and was buried
and resurrected.

And I would say to all these
other religions

who claim this and claim
that and claim the other.

Where is your leader?

Dead.

In the grave.

Where is Jesus?

Resurrected, seated at the
Father’s right hand

making intercession for us.

That is the testimony
of the Word of God.

Now, He reminds us and warns
us in this tenth chapter of

Matthew, He warns us of what’s–
what people’s attitudes

are going to be.

He says, “We will be hated by
all men for His sake.”

So, everything that’s going on
these days, it’s just exactly

what He said would do.

These things will happen, but
you and I are to take a stand.

Listen.

If you believe the Son of God,
you believe in Jesus Christ as

your personal Savior, you and I
should never be ashamed of Him.

And when somebody uses
Jesus’s name as a curse word

or a phrase, I’m here to
tell you, they’re in for it.

“Aw, that’s not who God is.”

Yes, He is.

He says He bestowed on Him
the name Jesus.

That makes it the number one
name, with all the high

priorities that could be given
to Jesus, He gave it to Him.

No other name
that’ll bring salvation,

but the name of Jesus Christ,
Himself.

Then I’d say the last thing
this, and that is Jesus came

into the world the first time as
a baby.

He will return as reigning king
and judge of all mankind.

And you can look in the
twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew,

that long passage there about
Jesus coming and separating the

sheep from the goats, and the
fact that He is the judge

of all mankind.

This is the person you accepted.

This is the Savior who
is your Savior.

He is the only Savior and it’s
by His name and His name alone

we get to heaven.

And here’s what He said.

No one comes to the Father but
by Me.

And listen, the same thing that
stirred up the Sadducees in

those days and made it, them
wanted to stone Him to death.

That very statement stirs
up people today.

You mean to tell me
there’s only one way?

Only one way.

Well, that’s selfish.

That’s a greedy god or that’s a
prejudiced god.

No, it’s not.

He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus,
to die on the cross to save you

from your sins.

There is no other way, no other
place and no other person.

You say, “Well, I’m not so bad.”

You need to get another look.

You have an old sin nature,
and that old sin nature’s

going to take you straight down
and away,

separated from God
for all eternity.

You have no other choice.

You say, “Well,
I’m a good person.”

That’s good in your eyes.

But the Bible says, “All have
sinned and come short

of the glory of God.”

“The soul that sinneth,
it shall die.”

“The wages of sin is death.”

“Every knee shall bow,
every tongue

shall confess that Jesus Christ
is the Lord.”

“He is God.

It is appointed unto man once
to die,

and after this the judgment.”

Think!

If you don’t trust Jesus as your
Savior–think!

What is your alternative when
you face death?

If you’re wise, you’ll ask the
Lord to forgive you of your

sins, forgive you for demeaning
His name

and put your life
into His hands.”

And you can do that right
where you are.

You ask Him to forgive you of
your sins, and maybe the things

you’ve said about Him, sins that
you’ve committed in your life.

Tell Him that today you’re
trusting His death at Calvary as

full payment for your sin.

You’re surrendering you life to
Jesus, who is God in the flesh,

who came for the purpose
of saving you.

Putting your life in His hands
and from this point on, by His

help and His guidance and His
strength through the Holy

Spirit, you choose to live a
godly life through the last

moment of your life.

I pray that you’ll be wise
enough to do just that.

And Father, how grateful we are
today, You sent us the Savior

and You have made it crystal
clear in the Word who He is,

why He came and why He deserves
our allegiance, our submission,

our total surrender.

We bless You today, Father,

and we bless Jesus, Your Son.

Amen.

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