Jesus our Help
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
John 3:16 is like a synopsis of the gospel: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:17 then says, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Jesus didn’t just come to heal, teach, or work miracles. Most importantly, He came to save us.
If you are drowning in a lake, you don’t need a swimming instructor. You need a Saviour, someone to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He came to pay our sin-debt for us on the cross, be buried, and rise again. Jesus came to be our Saviour.
Jesus also came to be our example for living: “…Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:” (1 Peter 2:21) He never sinned, but He endured many temptations. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus “…was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 2:18 also says, “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour [help] them that are tempted.”
One difficult time of temptation He endured was a forty-day fast in the wilderness before His public life. The Bible says, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.” (Matthew 4:1-2) “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing:” (Luke 4:2)
Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus replied, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) The devil told Him to throw Himself off the temple, He replied, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (Matthew 4:7) Finally, when Satan told Him to worship him, Jesus said, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:10)
Jesus could have just ordered the devil to leave and Satan would have had to obey. But that would not help us because we aren’t God the Son. Instead, Jesus used a weapon we can also use: Scripture. Every time the devil tempted Him, Jesus used Scripture to resist: “It is written…” “It is written…” “It is written…” We see from this story that Scripture is a powerful weapon we can use when we are tempted.
Jesus also came to be our source of strength. If you’ve received Jesus as your personal Saviour, He lives in you: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:” (Galatians 2:20) Living for Christ can be challenging, but the Lord has promised to be with us: “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) He has also assured us that He will give us the strength we need to live for Him: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
No one lives a perfect Christian life, but if you know Jesus as Saviour, Philippians 2:13 has this helpful truth: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” As you read your Bible, your indwelling Saviour works in your heart to guide you. The more you know Scripture, the better also that you will know Jesus and be a stronger Christian: “…I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” (1 John 2:14)
Jesus is our Saviour, our example, our help, and our strength. To see how to have your sins forgiven and eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 4/15/2025
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822