Bible

Why You NeedJESUS

An Animated
Gospel Tract

Contents

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Bible is God's inerrant, sufficient, and completed revelation, and it is the necessary starting point for true, objective knowledge about the universe.

The Bible Is NECESSARY

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

The Bible is the necessary logical, philosophical, and objective explanation for human existence and human knowledge.

All other philosophies, religions, and systems of thought fail in some way, whether because they are self-contradictory and result in skepticism ("knowledge is impossible")—which is also self-contradictory—or because they fail to produce enough knowledge.

In other words, human intelligence, reason, and rationality depend upon God and the Bible through which God has chosen to reveal Truth.

The Bible Is INERRANT

The Bible's original manuscripts were inspired by God and contained no errors. Although the original manuscripts no longer exist, the text has been reliably preserved throughout history, so we can have complete confidence in the biblical text we have today.

The Bible is fully self-consistent (there are valid answers to all alleged contradictions), and nothing in history or science necessarily contradicts its teachings. In fact, much history and science actually corroborate the Bible's teachings.

BIBLE

SCIENCE

HISTORY

The Bible Is SUFFICIENT

The Bible contains all we need to know to be saved and to live in a manner pleasing to God.

God has revealed a lot about Himself through the Bible. Among many other attributes, God is a Trinity, He is holy, and He is the creator.

God Is a TRINITY

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19)

God exists eternally as both one God and three distinct subsistencies, or persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible never uses the specific word "Trinity," but the Bible clearly teaches the concept of the Trinity.

The Trinity is not contradictory because it teaches that God is one in a certain sense and three in a different sense.

FATHER

SON

HOLY
SPIRIT

GOD

God Is HOLY

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty... (Revelation 4:8)

That God is holy means that He is completely unique and set apart in His infinite perfection and righteousness. Hebrews 12:28-29 teaches that God is a "consuming fire" who should be approached with "reverence and awe."

GOD

God Is the CREATOR

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

God created the universe, which means He has complete authority and sovereignty over everything in the universe, including you, me, and every other human. The Bible describes God as King over His creation.

GOD

CREATION

God created humans to glorify and enjoy Him through faith, worship, and obedience. However, there is a big problem.

SIN and the FALL

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned... (Romans 5:12)

Adam, the first human, was created without sin, but he fell into sin by disobeying God's command not to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam represented the entire human race in his sin as its federal head. This means that now, every human being is born with not only Adam's guilt, but also a sinful nature that rebels against God's commands.

GOD COMMANDS:

"You shall have no other gods before me."

Exodus 20:3

Have you ever put anything else (yourself, money, other people) before God?

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."

Exodus 20:7

Have you ever used the words "God" or "Jesus" irreverently?

"Honor your father and your mother."

Exodus 20:12

Have you ever disobeyed your parents?

"You shall not murder."

Exodus 20:13

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment..."

Matthew 5:22

Have you ever been angry with another person?

"You shall not commit adultery."

Exodus 20:14

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Matthew 5:28

Have you ever looked at a woman or man with lust?

"You shall not steal."

Exodus 20:15

Have you ever stolen anything?

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

Exodus 20:16

Have you ever lied?

"You shall not covet."

Exodus 20:17

Have you ever been jealous of what someone else has?

It is obvious that you—and me, and every other human—are guilty of sin against God, which is rebellion against how God created you to live.

The PUNISHMENT for Sin

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image... (Revelation 14:11)

The punishment for sin is eternal conscious torment in hell.

Objection: It's unfair to punish a finite lifetime of sins with infinite punishment in hell.

Answer: First, sinners continue sinning in hell, so their punishment is not just for a finite lifetime of sins.

Second, it's not about the quantity of sins, but the seriousness of sin. A single sin is infinite in seriousness and therefore deserving of infinite punishment because it is against an infinitely holy and righteous God. The seriousness of a sin is proportional to the dignity of the one sinned against.

Is There Any Hope?

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked... (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Apart from God's intervention, there is no hope for us to escape God's punishment. Ephesians 2 says that we are spiritually "dead," and dead people have no power to do anything for themselves.

Thankfully, God has intervened through Jesus, through whom there is hope.

Who Is Jesus?

... Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God... but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)

Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. At a particular point in history, He added a human nature to His divine nature in what is called the incarnation. Now, Jesus exists as both fully God and fully man.

GOD

JESUS

MAN

What Did Jesus Do?

He is the propitiation for our sins... (1 John 2:2)

Jesus came to save sinners by doing two things:

He lived a perfect life, obeying all of God's commands perfectly on behalf of sinners. Jesus' perfect righteousness is imputed, or credited, to sinners through faith.

He suffered the penalty of sin on the cross as a substitute sacrifice. In other words, Jesus suffered the hell that sinners deserved.

Jesus' saving work is sometimes referred to as the "Great Exchange"—Jesus is imputed with sin and sinners are imputed with Jesus' perfect righteousness.

SINNER

JESUS

Jesus Is the VICTORIOUS KING

... the Father of glory... raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places... (Ephesians 1:17, 20)

After Jesus was crucified, He rose on the third day, conquering sin and death. Jesus now sits alongside the Father as King over all creation.

JESUS

How Can I Be SAVED?

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. (Mark 1:15)

To be saved from sin and hell, Jesus says that we must repent and believe.

BELIEVE

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28)

To believe means to have faith in, or trust, in Jesus' saving works alone for salvation and not at all in our own "good" works.

SALVATION

JESUS

OURSELVES

REPENT

... you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9)

To repent means to turn away from loving and tolerating sin towards hating sin and desiring lifelong obedience to God.

SIN

GOD

Faith vs Works?

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

If sinners are saved through faith alone, then what role does repentance play in salvation? The answer is that true saving faith is never alone—it isalways accompanied by repentance, or a transformed life that desires God.

Both saving faith and repentance are the result of regeneration, or being "born again" by God. In other words, God is ultimately the one who saves, and everyone whom God saves will both have saving faith and live a transformed life.

REGENERATION

FAITH

WORKS

If you have just repented and believed in Jesus for the first time, that is very exciting! The next section will be about how to live as a Christ-follower.

True saving faith will result in a desire to do at least these three things:

study the Bible, which is God's revelation about Himself, and obey its teachings

faithfully attend a local church for spiritual growth, fellowship, and service

spread the message of the Bible, the gospel of Jesus Christ

Below is a list of helpful resources to help you do these things. Links will open in new tabs.

RESOURCES

Confessions

These confessions are excellent summaries of what the Bible teaches.

Find a Church

Teachers and Organizations

These are teachers and organizations who are solid in theology and provide excellent learning resources.