When people speak about Christ coming to earth the first time, they usually talk about how he came.

But the great emphasis of Scripture is on why he came.

Today, we examine the purpose statements found throughout the gospel records. Each of them help us to

understand more about Jesus. Join Scott Pauli now as we open the Bible and gain a fresh glimpse of the Lord.

The Christ that has talked about by so many people in so many places today is not the Christ of the Bible.

It is a Christ of their own making.

We have conjured up in our imagination and ideas a Christ that is palatable to our culture today, a soft, easy-going Christ, who nods his head and approval at everything. People want the meekness and gentleness

of Christ without the holiness and justice of Christ. They want the Christ that takes little children up on his lap,

but not the Christ that makes a whip and scourges in the temple and drives out the money

changers. They want the Christ that says, blessed are the poor in spirit, but do not,

does not the Christ that says, ye generation of vipers,

who have warned you to flee from the wrath to come. And let me just hasten to say,

he is not one or the other, dear friend. He is both. And that's why we have Matthew,

Mark, Luke, and John. That's why we have these four portraits and these, these varying angles

on the same person of Jesus Christ, because it gives us a whole picture,

a complete picture. I would say this to you, let the Word of God, the gospel of truth,

be the lens through which you view Christ. And let the Christ that you believe on and speak of

be the Christ of the Bible.

We're talking about why Christ came.

We've learned a number of things already.

We've learned that he came to save, that he came to serve, that he came to sacrifice,

that he came to bring a sword or to bring division.

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