What Will You Do? — Welcome Detweiler

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ

There have been great men in the world who have won fame and renown and whose names are honored and beloved, but far above them all is the highly exalted position of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. His name is the best loved, the outstanding name in the world.

His praises are sung without ceasing, day and night. Every minute of the twenty-four hours of the day, from every quarter of the globe, ascend songs of gladness from the lips of those whose lives have been changed since they have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The press never stops printing the books and gospel tracts of which he is the theme. The poets have flooded the earth with inspirational and solemn hymns of which my Savior is the central theme. The artist has found the beauties of nature a grand theme, but when the artist paints his masterpiece, he finds inspiration in the incidents of the life of Christ as well as in his outstanding deaths.

During the past centuries, a good number of Christians have been martyred. They have endured patiently the foul dungeons, the flames at the stake, the starved lions, the rack, all because they pledged their undivided allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.

For nearly two thousand years, new missionaries, preachers, teachers, Christian nurses and doctors have left home comforts and suffered privations in far distant lands because they love the Lord Jesus Christ more than any earthly friend.

Can you think of any other great man whose name has been more highly honored? He has no rival. He stands alone because he is God's only begotten Son. As a preacher of the gospel, it is my most happy privilege and solemn responsibility to exalt this greatest of all persons.

Christ’s Virgin Birth and Sinless Life

I should like to call your attention to a few of the excellencies of the greatest person that ever walked upon the face of the earth, and I think you would expect me to begin at his birth. And immediately I must remind you that even in his birth he stands in a class all alone, for he was born of a virgin, altogether different from all other descendants of Adam's race.

His virgin birth is a mystery of no greater proportion than is every human birth. As this greatest child grows into manhood, he stands alone because he is sinless. Although he often prayed to his Heavenly Father, he never confessed that he had sinned.

He never asked for forgiveness, nor did he ever apologize for failure. He could stand before his fellow men, even his accusers, and challenge them by saying, ''Which of you convinces me of sin?''. Some of the earth's great men have excelled in one particular field, but Christ excelled in every test.

He had to be sinless, for he would never have been able to do the work that the Father gave him to do if the slightest imperfection could be found in him. In order to be God's sacrificial lamb, he had to be without spot or blemish.

The most ridiculous thing that any of the sons of men can ever do is to claim sinless perfection, or equality with Christ, God's Immaculate Son. One of the reasons that Christ was so hated while upon the earth was the fact that by his sinlessness he magnified the sinfulness of his fellow men.

The best of the sons of men were compelled to admit that they were sinners when they stood alongside of the Lord Jesus Christ. During those few brief years of his earthly ministry, Christ proved by his interest in the needy that he did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister.

In his miracles he once more proved that he was God, that he stood in a class of his own far above the rest of the sons of men. Yet with all of his power he was meek and lonely in heart. He was commonly known as a friend of publicans and sinners.

He did not cater to the proud and bigoted religious dignitaries. In his omniscient eyes they were lost sinners wearing religious garbs. As I consider the things that happened during his earthly ministry, I dare not linger too long on his good life, for that was only incidental to his death.

Christ’s Substitutionary Death as the Basis of Salvation

I am convinced that the greatest weakness in the program of religious education in our day is that the emphasis has been placed on the wrong syllable of the history of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are trying to promote religion without being guided by the word of God will tell us that the good life of Christ and his teachings are paramount, and that his death as a martyr for a good cause was only incidental.

But those who read the Bible carefully will notice that God places the emphasis on Christ's substitutionary death. He did not die as a martyr for a good cause. He was not murdered by wicked men, but he voluntarily laid down his life, no man taking it from him except insofar as they fulfilled the purposes of God.

All other men have come into the world to live, but Christ came to die, to put away sin by his own substitutionary death. I think at this point I must enlighten you as to the danger and the ill effects of the careless and unscriptural place of emphasis that the religious world has given to the story of Christ.

Since the emphasis is being placed on the good life of Christ, men and women by the thousands have concluded that Christ came into the world to show the human family how to live, and those who follow his pattern, to whatever degree they choose, will be fitted to enter heaven at the end of the road.

This to me is one of the most subtle lies that careless religious leaders are propagating. Christ did not come into the world to show sinners how to live, so that if we follow his pattern, we would be saved.

That is false, unscriptural doctrine. Christ came to die for our sins, and he promised forgiveness only to those who rest in his sacrificial death and resurrection as a basis of salvation. I am reading from 1 Peter 3 and 18, for Christ hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God.

Notice it does not say that Christ has once lived on earth to show us an example, and by this means bring us to God. There is no suggestion anywhere in the Bible that promises eternal life to the person who tries to live like Jesus lived.

You may find that suggestion in your catechism, but you will never find it in the Bible. After you take your true position as a lost, helpless sinner and rest on Christ and his finished work on the cross for salvation, God will immediately change your desires, and a life that will glorify God will automatically follow.

If it does not, it is quite possible that you have missed the boat, which often happens when sinners are roped in under high-pressure methods of evangelism. I dare not minimize the wonderful life of Christ, but I must point out the error of using it as a basis of salvation.

I ask you, are you trying to merit heaven by an honest effort to live like Jesus lived? If so, you have a terrific shock just ahead of you, and I trust you will discover before it is too late that you are altogether on the wrong road.

The Necessity of the Cross

If Christ would have gone back to heaven in a chariot at the close of his good life on earth without dying for our sins on the cross, there would be no salvation for any of us. Many men have died noble deaths.

They have laid down their lives in a worthy manner, and their memory is precious to us, but none of them can be placed in the clasp of that cruel, agonizing death which Christ passed through voluntarily because he loved us and wanted to provide salvation for us.

Christ’s Bodily Resurrection and Exalted Saviorhood

As I think of the triumphant resurrection of Christ once more, I am compelled to notice that Christ is preeminent. The holy scriptures teach the bodily resurrection of Christ. It was not his spirit that was raised from the dead, but his body and his spirit.

During his earthly ministry, a few others were raised from the dead. But you would have difficulty in finding them today. What happened to them? In due time, death claimed them again. When Christ was raised from the dead, he received life that was beyond the reach of death, and because of this he becomes a very safe savior.

Nothing can happen to him. After he was seen by above 500 witnesses, he ascended to heaven, and he is there at the Father's right hand at this very moment, ready and able to save any poor, guilty sinner who is ready to be saved.

The Call to Trust Christ Alone

I have tried to bring to your attention the excellencies of God's blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you might turn away from yourself and all other men who may claim to be able to save you, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only one who is big enough to save you for all eternity.

You need a strong savior, and Christ is the only one who is worthy of your trust. God's question to you is, what is your attitude toward my son? Will you trust him as your sin bearer? Will you take refuge in Christ?

If so, God offers eternal life. If not, you remain exposed to God's judgment. Or what will you do with Jesus? The call comes low and sweet, and tenderly he bids you, your burden lay at his feet. O soul so sad and weary, that sweet voice speaks to thee.

Then what will you do with Jesus? O what shall the answer be? O what will you do with Jesus? The call comes low and clear, the solemn words are sounding in every listening ear. Eternal life's in the question, and joy through eternity.

Then what will you do with Jesus? O what shall the answer be? O think of the King of glory from heaven to earth come down. His life so pure and holy, his death, his cross, his crown. Of his divine compassion, his sacrifice for thee.

Then what will you do with Jesus? O what shall the answer be?