John Chapter 6
-It is very interesting that in this chapter Jesus says some things that are very hard to understand. He speaks of "eating His flesh" and "drinking His blood" and that unless one does this, they will not inherit eternal life. If someone were to take this scripture out of its context (which many people do, including Christians...) you would probably think, "what a strange thing for the leader of a religion to say." If you continue on in the chapter, even John admits that these things were very difficult for Jesus' disciples to understand. So much so, that many of His disciples left Him. We see that the Bible is such a completely honest book and that is one of the many things that makes it so beautiful. Jesus says something that is pretty much a mind trip and John doesn't try to cover it up, he admits that it is! Other works of false religions often sound so ceremonial and flowery and fake. On the other hand the Bible is very much a book of blunt reality.
-Jesus sometimes said things that were hard to understand, the Bible concurs and clarifies. Paul speaks of things that are high and lofty and Peter says, "our brother Paul says some things that are difficult to grasp." He admits that even he had a hard time wrapping his brain around some of the things that Paul wrote. He doesn't try to sound like a Stalinist era Russian newspaper, he talks openly and honestly about the writings of Paul and the fact that they are challenging at times. But, he goes on to equate Paul's writings with "the Scriptures," in other words, the canonical Word of God.
-Another thing, consider Peter himself. As you study his life, there is no rosy portrayal of this man. He cuts people's ears off, acts as the very spokesman of Satan and is rebuked by Jesus, and then goes on to deny even knowing Jesus! Thankfully, God's grace pulled him through. However, even after preaching his powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost and becoming a leader of the early church, he was called out by Paul for his hypocrisy in not wanting to associate with Gentiles. This is something that sets the Bible apart. As we read about the lives of the people in scripture, there is no attempt to glamorize or sugar coat their lives. The Bible is ruggedly real. God's Word is the stuff of real life.
Our church and one family in particular have endured a tremendous loss this last week, one that makes little sense at all to our human reasoning. Times like these cause you to do a lot of soul searching and at times one may be tempted to feel a bit angry with God at the seeming lack of a reason why. However, the answer is not to to be angry with God and to fall away from Him, but to get on your knees and honestly wrestle with Him in prayer about those things that make so little sense to us. Some thoughts...
1. It's not so much important what I believe, but rather what is true. Sounds simple enough, but it really hits home during times like these. We've actually witnessed some mighty miracles this last week, a financial miracle, an actual healing from cancer...so why those and not this one? I find it hard to believe that there was not enough faith mustered up to equal the size of a mustard seed, but what appeared to us to be the mountain did not move. Jesus prayed, "if it be Your will, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done." Jesus drank the cup and it was most assuredly not a pleasant one. But, He drank it looking forward to the joy that was to come as a result of His sacrifice. In a time like this, one will find peace simply saying, "My God, You are the Almighty Sovereign, I don't understand, but, Your will be done." Why did it happen this way? Only He truly knows. I am tormented when I become big in my mind, a little god of sorts. My words, my prayers, was there not enough faith? On the other hand, if I am small (the creature in my proper place), and I behold Him for who He is, the loving Almighty, Sovereign Father, I am at peace. "Thy will be done on earth even as it is in heaven."
2. There is no insignificant life. The impact of one little life is amazing. Our friends lives will never be the same again after experiencing this loss. They will by God's grace move on and go forward, but there will always be memories of that precious little life they were privileged to enjoy for 5 years. What had she accomplished in those 5 years to make such an impact? Had she earned millions or built a major company? Hit home runs in the big leagues? Been a valedictorian at school and graduated with honors? No, she didn't and unfortunately never will be able to. But, "the greatest of all these is LOVE." Her little life had impact, significance, meaning because of love, both the love of mother and father received by her and the love she gave back in return. Let no one think for a moment that their life counts for nothing if they know love. And if one is tempted to feel as though they are not loved, always remember, "greater love has no man than this than to lay down his life for his friends." "Even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." We are loved and are created to love therefore our lives are important. There is no insignificant life.
"Dear friends, I've dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting-begging!-that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish!" Jude 1:3 The Message
"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 The Amplified Bible
"But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around. " Titus 2:8 The Message
-In the first verse above, it sounds awfully important to Jude that we fight for the faith that we have been entrusted with. So much so that he exhorts us to fight with everything we have in order to do so. I have a simple, direct question though. I am not talking to some mysterious "they" out there, I'm talking to you. Are you able to articulate your faith well enough to actually fight for it? I am discovering that there are a multitude of church pew dwellers who could not fight for their faith out of a wet paper sack. The apostle Paul commanded Timothy to study, to "correctly analyze and skillfully teach the Word of Truth." The Apostle Paul also tells Titus that his teaching should be "incorruptible, solid and sane." Let's take the challenge these above verses issue seriously. As Jude passionately expresses, it's no game. Ignorant pew dwelling is not God's heart for His people. His heart is that we be equipped, prepared, ready to defend this precious faith that has been entrusted to us, to all of us (not just the preaching pastor).
If you're like me, you've probably had a whole lot of people come knocking on your door with tract or pamphlet in hand trying to get you to convert to their religion. Many of these people claim to love Jesus, they claim to be saved by Jesus and claim that He is the Savior of the world sent by the Father to redeem mankind. Sounds great, doesn't it? Sounds a lot like what you believe, right? The words are all there, so they must be Christians...I mean, they love Jesus for crying out loud. But, hang on just a second. Not everyone who says they love Jesus believes in the same Jesus the Bible teaches us about.
For example, there are groups that say (and I can almost guarantee they've knocked on your door...and are running president of the United States...)
...He's the first born son of God and one of God's many heavenly wives. And on top of that, so are you and I! Oh, and by the way, Lucifer is too so that makes Lucifer his younger brother and your or my brother somewhere down the line...
Others (who wear snappy, starched white shirts with cute little name tags) say...
...He's the "firstborn over all creation" (hey, isn't that in the Bible?). In other words, He was the very first created being made by God and that he worked really hard and eventually became the savior and god of this world...
Still there are some who say...
...He was a great prophet, a very enlightened man and we all should strive to be like him because, umm, he was really enlightened.
Now, I have an extremely important question. If you are like many and realize that there is something terribly wrong with humanity (i.e., sin) and that the only hope for lost humanity is a Savior, then, isn't it important that that Savior be the right one? Even if I looked just like George Bush and went around telling people that I was the president of the United States, I would be lying. I would be a powerless impostor, an imitator and a deceiver. It is urgent, eternally urgent, that we know truly who Christ is.
As I've already mentioned, there are no shortages of opinion as to the person of Christ, but what does the Bible actually say about who He is? If you are a Christian, would you be able to give a defense of what truly orthodox (by the way, that's not a bad word) Christianity states, that He is The Divine God-Man, fully God, fully man? That He is Emmanuel, God with us? Are you able to articulate why you believe what you believe? Let's cut through all the opinion and see what the Scriptures actually say about the person of Christ...to be continued.