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Why do I have to believe in Jesus to become God's friend? Why couldn't I achieve that some other way?
If Jesus is who He said He is‑God‑then whatever He says is true. I've already given you what I think are very strong arguments that Jesus is who He said He is‑His resurrection being the strongest. So I think it makes sense to believe what Jesus tells us. And He said, »I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me« (John 14:6).
Our sins put us under God's judgment. God is perfect, and He demands perfection of us. But none of us is perfect, so we cannot meet those demands. Because God is just He requires punishment on those who disobey Him. But Jesus said He had come to give His life to ransom us from God's just penalty against sin (Matthew 20:28).
I don't understand why all that was necessary. Why couldn't God just accept us as we are?
God made us to be His friends, but our sins make us repugnant to Him. The old Jewish prophet Habakkuk prayed once to God, »Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor« (Habakkuk 1:13). So mankind's sinfulness separates him from God. Yet God's love for us is so strong that He promised He would send someone‑His only Son, in fact,‑to bear punishment as our substitute, so that we could be set free from sin and its punishment and become His friends again. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God's promise to send the Savior.
The price God paid to deliver us from punishment for sin was infinitely precious‑His own Son. If there had been any other way for us to reach God, Jesus would not have had to die. That He did die indicates that there was no other way to make salvation possible. His resurrection proved He was who He said He was and that His death did what He said It did, namely, paid the penalty for our sins.
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