Jesus claims to be God's Son ~
Today Jesus provides answers to all the grumbling. Not only was Jesus breaking the Sabbath (in the opinion of the Jews), He was also claiming to be equal to God. Here He tells the people, and us, who exactly He is:
1) He is obedient to God the Father. Everything Jesus does is in obedience to and for the benefit of God, His Father.
2) He raises the dead and offers eternal life.
3) He is our judge. This position has been given to Him by God the Father.
All who believe in the Son will have eternal life. At the end times, everyone will stand before Jesus to be judged. Those who believe will live eternally. Those who don't believe will be condemned.
Does that seem harsh? I know a lot of people who say that a loving God would never condemn anyone. But what is this condemnation? It is separation for all eternity from God. Now, God is good - so this will be an eternity separated from goodness and light. Not very pleasant. How can God do this? It's all because He loves us enough to let us choose. You can choose to believe, enter into a relationship with God, and spend all eternity with Him. Or, you can choose not to believe, deny God, and go your own way. God will honor whichever choice you make. He will never force you to do something you don't want to do. But, He will always pursue you. He will always call out to you. He made it so easy for you - just believe. Believe that He created you. Believe that He sent His Son to teach you, heal you, and die for you. Believe that His Son rose again so that you might have a relationship that leads to eternal life. God will never give up on you. So, the question becomes - will you give up on Him?
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