What is the Problem?
Billboards seem to regularly prompt me to think theologically. This is now the fourth Jesus-based billboard I have mused about. (See God’s Not Mad?, The Church and the Devil, or The Wrong Goal.) I’m not questioning the motives of whoever puts up these billboards, but I do question their theology. I’m sure they love Jesus and are concerned about the lost. However, those of us who know and love the Jesus revealed in the Bible should care about correct theology at all times. If we are going to appeal to the unbelieving world to consider Jesus, our appeal should come from good doctrine. Proper biblical and loving motives for sharing Jesus with the world are vital, but we must also be careful to think through the message that is shared. The billboard that prompted these thoughts said, “Jesus is the answer to all your problems.”
I’ve seen bumper stickers that say, “Jesus is the answer.” That always prompts me to ask, “What is the question?” However, this billboard prompts me to ask, “What is the problem?” According to the billboard, my question is sort of irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what the problem is; Jesus is the answer. I grant that the creators of the billboard are concerned with life-related problems. We all know Jesus is not the answer to many questions or problems. Jesus is not the answer to the question, “How far is it from New York to Los Angeles?” I’m sure those who put up the billboard are concerned about problems arising from relationships, health, career, marriage, parenting, money, and many other life issues.
The Bible offers help in those and other areas of life, but is that the primary message for an unbeliever? If you need help with your marriage, go to Jesus. If you need career advice, go to Jesus. What is missing is that life problems are due to sin. In the end, it does no good to go to Jesus for relationship help if sin is not addressed. I’m sure many non-believers would welcome help in times of trouble or distress. You can want peace in your relationships, financial stability, freedom from addiction, and so on, but do not want to address the real issue. Few want to address sin as the Bible addresses sin. What does the Bible say about sin and its results?
None is righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10b ESV)
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23a ESV)
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a ESV)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36 ESV)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV)
None of those passages presents a popular message, but that is the problem that Jesus answers. The problem is sin and the result of sin, which is death, and the judgment of sin, which is God’s wrath. The sin problem does lead to a multitude of other temporal problems, but addressing a temporal problem without addressing the sin problem is like treating a symptom instead of the disease that produces the symptom.
A few years ago, a friend of mine and I were having a conversation with someone in our neighborhood. We were discussing the difficulties that we sometimes bring on ourselves, and my friend commented, “Well, we are all sinners.” My neighbor immediately responded, “I’m not a sinner, I just sometimes make bad choices.” I’ve found that this neighbor has no interest in hearing about Jesus. The point is, if sin is not the problem, then Jesus is not the answer. Answers can be sought in self-help books, therapy, doctors, or advice from friends, but if sin is the root problem (and it is), then Jesus is the only answer. Forgiveness of sin is only found in Jesus.
And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that [Jesus Christ] is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:42–43 ESV)
Only in Jesus do we have life.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12 ESV)
Only in Jesus are we spared God’s wrath.
For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 ESV)
The problem is sin, which leads to death, which leads to wrath. The answer to that problem is Jesus and Jesus alone.
Photo by Patricia McCarty: https://www.pexels.com/photo/jesus-saves-neon-signage-1769691/