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In this age of self-help mantras, why doesn't the Church offer Jesus as a way to have the abundant life? After all, that is what Jesus came for as well.

The reason I ask is because when people used to say that Jesus died for my sins, I wasn't a Christian at the time, and didn't consider myself particularly sinful. The irony is that Christians are more aware of the things in their lives that could become sinful very easily, while sinners steeped in sin have almost no idea of it. Perhaps if someone had said to me "Turn to Jesus if you want true happiness and fulfillment", I would have understood it better.

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That's the message of John 10:10‌​. It is taught, but probably not as much as it should be. – Wikis Dec 13 '12 at 11:27
The fallacy of doing so is covered in the Hell's Best Kept Secret teaching. Read it here livingwaters.com/helps/HellsBestKeptSecret.pdf or watch it here vimeo.com/4186384 Even if you disagree with the teaching, and the premise, it's worth a watch. There's also a summary of the teaching here: christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/10095/… – David Stratton Dec 13 '12 at 12:31
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BUT... This question isn't a good fit as it's worded. This is more of a "pastoral advice" question, with no possible answer other than opinions, and therefore not constructive per the site guidelines. – David Stratton Dec 13 '12 at 12:38
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In my experience, the churches are frequently citing Jesus as a way to have abundant life; on the street, in the media, in the book-store. Note that "abundant life" (title) is different to "true happiness and fulfillment" (end), but: in both cases there is a significant issues in terms of justifying/qualifying the claim. – Marc Gravell♦ Dec 13 '12 at 13:10
I agree with @DavidStratton, I can't imagine a single answer that resolves this question fully. The answer ends up being something like, "because, that's why". A similar question for comparison would be, "why don't all Christians follow the bible daily." – user1054 Dec 13 '12 at 15:00
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closed as not constructive by David Stratton, Dan Andrews, Affable Geek, Narnian, Andrew Dec 13 '12 at 18:14

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