4 Reasons We Need Christ

– Charles Spurgeon

To Be Christ-Like

There are more than four reasons we need Christ but no less than four, including the need to be Christ-like. My mentor, a retired senior pastor who is now disabled, told me they use the words “Christ followers” in their church instead of Christian. Too many people use that name without meaning they are walking with Christ. When Philip asked Jesus “Lord, show us the Father,” they didn’t understand that in seeing Jesus, they were seeing the Father in the greatest revelation of God ever. To see what the Father desires in us, we can see what Christ did to please the Father and follow the same footsteps He did (Matthew 25:34-40).

To Be More Servant-Like

Jesus didn’t just come to be a king on this earth the first time, even though most of the Jews expected a military Messiah. Jesus came to serve and to give His own life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). We simply have to trust Him, and He’s surely trustworthy to those who come to Him in repentance and faith (John 3:36; 6:37-39), which is just what Jesus said the Gospel was (Mark 1:15).

As Our Intercessor

If you’ve ever had to go to court like I have, you’d appreciate having a good advocate or lawyer. Someone who could speak to the judge for you would be better than doing it yourself. Our sins have been judged at the cross if we’ve trusted in Christ. Jesus is more than our Mediator; He is also our Intercessor. He intercedes on behalf of the saints to the Father. That’s why we’re told to pray through His name (John 14:13).

As Our Commander

Jesus is more than our Lord and Savior; He is also Head of the Church. He has marching orders for the church (Matthew 28:19-20), which include the times Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35-36). The righteous didn’t understand (Matthew 25:37), so Jesus reminds them, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:38)

Conclusion

Charles Spurgeon has a huge heart for the lost. He knew that the Great Commission was to go out and to seek the lost, to make disciples among the nations, and to teach them the same things that the disciples had been taught by Jesus. That’s a lot more than just “witnessing” to people. It’s a long, hard discipleship; a mentoring process; and a lifelong process of sanctification where we grow in God’s grace and in His knowledge. Indeed, we do need Christ and need Him greatly.