Jesus Only

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. 

One subject I’ve been particularly wrestling with is how we can so quickly over value and over emphasize our personal experiences. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I think it is important and even encouraging when we share with others what God has done/is doing in our lives, but if that becomes the focal point of our salvation we are missing the point. 

Let’s take a look at some of the conversion experiences in the book of Acts: 

Paul has a pretty spectacular one. A light appears from heaven. He falls to the ground and hears the voice of Jesus saying “Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me?” He then experiences three days of blindness. God then appears to Ananias in a vision and tells him to go to Paul. Ananias speaks to Paul. The scales fall from his eyes. He receives His sight back, gets up and is baptized. He then goes to the synagogues and preaches that Jesus is the Son of God. (Acts 9:1-20) 

The Ethiopian Eunuch also had an interesting experience. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship but had not found the answers he was looking for. The Spirit directs Philip to the road where the Eunuch was traveling on and then tells Phillip to join himself to the chariot of the Eunuch. Philip runs to join up with him and hears him read from the prophet Isaiah. “Understandest thou what thou readest?” He asks him. The Eunuch responds by saying “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Philip then Opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. After hearing what Philip has to say the Eunuch asks if he can be baptized. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Philip then disappears from sight and the Eunuch goes on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-39 

Lydia’s story in Acts 16:14 is much shorter and simpler. It says she worshiped God. God opened her heart. And she attended unto the things which were spoken of by Paul. 

The people listening to a sermon where Peter points them to Jesus gladly received the word and were baptized. Three thousand souls were added to the church that day. Acts 2:41 

Do we ever hear Paul say, “Only my conversion experience is true because I literally saw a light and heard the voice of Jesus speaking to me?” No. 

Do we ever hear the Eunuch say, “Only my conversion experience is true because God’s Spirit actually directed Philip to me, and then made him disappear? That was truly a miracle, so that proves what I experienced must have been the real thing!” 

It says about Lydia that God opened her heart. God opens the heart of all those who believe in Jesus, but it doesn’t make for the best, most exciting story does it? How can you explain that and turn it into something tangible? 

The people listening to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 don’t have that much of a story to tell either. “We were listening to this man Peter, who pointed us to Jesus and we gladly received the word and we were baptized.” 

That’s it? 

Yes. 

But their belief in Jesus was just as real as the others, for it says that three thousand souls were added to the church that day. 

So what we can learn from these different conversion experiences was that their commonality was not in their experiences, but in their believing in Jesus, the Son of God. 

Does God work in different ways? Obviously. 

Is one way better than another? No. 

William Cowper says: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;” 

Some people God stops in their tracks with a light from heaven, while others like Timothy were believers from childhood. 

What God uses to draw us and direct us to Jesus shouldn’t be the focal point of our salvation, however. 

Jesus is. 

When we focus on our own experiences, or other people’s spiritual experiences our focus is off-center. All our focus for our salvation must be on Jesus. 

Anytime I look at myself too long I quickly become discouraged and filled with self-doubt, and for good reason too. 

Paul says: O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24 

It also can cause others to stumble and doubt if they feel their experiences don’t measure up to other people's experiences. 

Also, our emotions/feelings/perceptions are constantly changing and can’t be trusted. We quickly start to wonder, Was that experience real? Or did I imagine it? Was it big enough? That other person’s experience sounds way more powerful than mine, so maybe mine wasn’t real. 

We need to stop looking at ourselves! 

Instead let’s keep our eyes focused on Jesus. 

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Hebrews 12:2 

Jesus the unchanging one. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8 

Jesus. 

The Beloved Son of God. 

The Holy One. 

The Sinless One. 

The Perfect One. 

Our Saviour. 

Our Mediator.

Our only Comfort.

Our only Hope.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29b 

The only way we can be saved is through Him! 

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9 

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:29-31