Believe it or not, on the campus we're playing a game similar to that old TV show. This game however isn't played in front of a TV audience. Instead, it's played within the minds of students.

You see, everyone has a different idea of who Jesus is, and everyone's idea is different. Common sense and logic tells us that they all can't be right.

As an example, this semester, I've encountered several different students who have vastly different ideas about the identity of Jesus. Here are a few:

Student 1: Jesus is the Son of God the Father. He was once a man like you and I are and by living a life of obedience, he became a god.

Student 2: Jesus is the Son of God, but He is not God Himself. He is a separate being altogether.

Student 3: Jesus is a prophet, a good man sent from God.

Student 4: Jesus was just a man. He is not the Messiah, but was merely a religious leader.

Can you guess what religious persuasions these students each come from?

Some people may wonder what the big deal is. "Who cares what your view of Jesus is", some may say. The response is that it does matter. It matters a lot.

The identity of Jesus has far reaching implications. Though the aforementioned descriptions are all slightly different, they do have one thing in common. They all deny the deity of Jesus Christ; they deny that Jesus is God.

Why does it matter if one believes that Jesus is God? It matters because only God can pay for sin.

I like to use this illustration with students with whom I share the gospel.

Imagine that you owe a trillion dollar debt to someone. The person is demanding payment, but you don't have the money.

A good friend comes along, and after you share your dilemma, he agrees to bail you out. So your friend whips out his checkbook and writes a check to you for $1 trillion. He gives you the check as a free gift.

You're feeling pretty good. But there's a problem. Your friend, though well-meaning, doesn't have $1 trillion. The check isn't any good.

You see the only person who can pay a debt on your behalf is someone who has no debt.

Now the debt is sin. And the person we owe the debt to is God. All of us have a sin debt we owe to God. The only person who can pay our debt is someone who has no sin of their own. And if they are going to pay everyone's debt, they not only have to be debt free (sinless) but they have to have an infinite amount of resources (righteousness). By definition, the only person who is both sinless and infinitely righteous is God. Only God can actually pay the debt we owe.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved that He was God. That is significant to Christians because it proves that Jesus' death actually pays for sin. Using our analogy, it's like a check clearing the bank, proving that there was money in the account to pay the debt.

If Jesus isn't God, He cannot pay for our sin. That is why our view of Jesus is extremely important and that's why we as Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

For a more detailed explanation of why Christians believe that Jesus is God, click here...