I have had a couple conversations
recently and have seen many postings on the internet lately, probably
in relation to the upcoming holiday called Easter or Resurrection
Day, in which Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord,
Jesus the Christ. These posts have compelled me to write this, and I
write it with no disrespect for anyone, only a deep love and respect
and desire for my Lord to be represented accurately as he really is.
So here goes. Jesus did not come so
we can all have our "best life now". Jesus did not come so
that I can have a million dollars, or a nicer car, or a huge house.
Jesus is not merely a teacher or a wise man. Jesus isn't some 1960's
hippy. He didn't come to preach against global warming. He wasn't
all about tolerance and looking the other way at sin. He didn't come
so we could post his sayings out of context on Facebook, or attribute
things to him that he didn't say. He didn't come to support our
agenda, whatever that may be. He isn't a republican; he isn't a
democrat. Jesus didn't come so we can all sit around and sing
"Cumbaya" together. This list could go on an on...
Here is why Jesus came, to save
sinners who are destined for hell -eternity separated from God and
his good presence to bless. Jesus is God in the flesh. The first
public words out of his mouth were, "From
that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17).
Jesus
came to live a sinless life and to die in the place of those who
would believe upon him. You see, God is holy, set apart from sin.
His wrath and anger at sin are being stored up against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). But the free gift of
God for those who repent believe is salvation from sin and His
eternal love. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
"for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by
his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received
by faith. This was to show
God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed
over former sins. "(Romans 3:23-25) You see, we are all, by our
very nature separated from God and His enemies. The only way to be
reconciled is through faith in the Son of God. The One who
propitiates, or satisfies the wrath of God.
Here
are some other things that Jesus DID say:
"Do
not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not
come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies
will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross
and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose
it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." --
(Jesus in Matthew 10:34-39).
True
faith in Christ separates people from one another: those who believe
will necessarily think differently from those who don't. Also, to be
noticed in this passage, Jesus is calling his followers to deny their
own sinful desires, to put the old sinful self to death (take up his
cross, the instrument of Jesus' death, and metaphorically his
followers' death to sin).
Jesus
said this:
"You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a
woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in
his heart.
(Matthew
5:27-28)
And
again, the Apostle Paul could not be clearer, "Or do you not
know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the
greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you
were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1Corinthians
6:9-11). The point here is not that Christians are to single out
some group of people and vilify or persecute them, whether
homosexuals, or otherwise. The point is that if you are a Christian,
you have been washed of sin. But make no mistake, Jesus and his
Apostles were not unclear on what sin is. In fact, sin is such an
offense to God that Jesus had to die for it...The just payment for
sin is death (Romans 6:23)
Here
is another thing Jesus did, he made the astounding claim that he is
God!
Jesus
said to them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and
went out of the temple.
(John 8:58-59) Two things here, obviously Jesus is claiming that he
was around before Abraham, who lived some 1000 years before Jesus
birth. But he is also claiming for himself the divine Name "I
Am". This is a reference to the account of Moses and the
burning bush in Exodus 3 when Moses asks God who he is. God's reply
to him was, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to
the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14)
Jesus is claiming to be God! And furthermore he claims that he is
the only way to have access to God:
Jesus
said to him, "I
am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
If
you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on
you do know him and have seen him."
(John
14:6-7)
Jesus
does indeed also tell Christians to love one another in many places.
He and his Apostles also tell his followers to love each other and
live at peace with all men, as much as is possible with them.
These
things I command you, so that you will love one another. "If
the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love
you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you
out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John
15:17-19). Notice here, that Jesus says that the Christian will be
hated by the world. This is because the world hates Jesus and the
claims he makes. The world doesn't want to hear that it needs a
savior from its sin. In fact, the world wants to keep reveling and
glorying in its sin. This is the reason, the Romans and the
Pharisees killed Jesus: they didn't want to hear his message! He
wasn't telling them to all just get along. He claimed to be God. He
claimed to be the only way to God, the Father. His life, death and
resurrection stand alone in history as God's own way of dealing with
the sinfulness of fallen humanity and its effects. This is an
extremely exclusive message and is a far cry from, " Jesus loves
you and has a plan for your life". One must come in faith and
repentance to Jesus, turning away from their sin and trusting him as
their righteousness before God. This is the only way. This is why
Christians celebrate the resurrection; because apart from it, we are
lost and still in our sin. Christians are not better than others...In fact, a Christian should have an ever increasing awareness of his or her own sinfulness, and an increasing love and gratitude for his Savior- the wonder of the Grace of God! This does play out in real life as a concern for others.
This
is just a brief sampling of who Jesus is in his proper context. I
mean no disrespect by writing it and encourage you read more in the Scriptures. The fact is, the Gospel is an offensive message to those who do not want to hear it, but it is
life and joy and peace to the Christian.
