By Chuck Slocum & Chad West

We went to Timberfest wanting to get an idea of how we could speak to the community about Jesus.  We were surprised to find that it was the church that needs to hear about Jesus as much as anyone else.  When asked, “Is there a specific time in your life when you can say you gave your life to Jesus,” many people would respond with, “Well, I go to church.”

Satan uses this lie to convince a lot of people that they’re good to go with God as long as they warm that pew on Sunday.  This isn’t a new problem.  A young, rich guy came to Jesus and claimed that he had to be heaven-bound because he kept all the commandments.  Jesus showed him that God’s standards were a lot higher than he imagined, and that he could never meet them on his own.  This is why the Bible calls Jesus the stumbling block.  He gets in the way of our arrogance—our belief we can work our way to God—with his simple gift of love.

There’s no other name by which we can be saved.  That’s why Jesus is called the Cornerstone—everything relies on him.  God became a man and lived among us, dying for our sins, in our place.  Trusting in Jesus, and that sacrifice, is the only way you can truly answer the “Do you know Jesus” question.  Jesus said, “Whoever trusts in Me will not perish, but have ever-lasting life.”  Just believing that God exists doesn’t cut it, going to church doesn’t do it, coming from a Christian family won’t help one bit, and trying to be good doesn’t even come close to solving the problem of our sin.  Only by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for you and me will you find the Way.