More Than Just Good Directions

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” – 1 Peter 3:18

I love that phrase “that he might bring us to God.” It beautifully depicts two of the most profound tenants of the Gospel. 1. The Depravity of Man (that there was nothing we could do in and of ourselves to reach a holy God), and 2. The Exclusivity of Christ’s Atonement (that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father.) Jesus stated in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me!” It’s not up for debate. He didn’t come to show us a way. He came to be the way.

Throughout the ages many great teachers and prophets walked onto the landscape of history and attempted to show the way to God. And many of them did it successfully. However, none of them could claim to have the ability to actually bring people to God. This was a message and a function exclusive to Christ. Only Jesus could quite literally bring us to God–take us to God–carry us to God. He alone has bridged the gap, the great divide, between unrighteous humanity and righteous God. Only Jesus has rescinded our title as “enemies of God” and transferred us into the category of “friends with God.”

I like Google maps. It does a decent job of helping me get from point A to point B. But it falls short. I would like it more if it chauffeured me to my location! If it physically took me by the hand and brought me there. Jesus came not simply to give good directions. He came to bring us to God.