There are a few things I think we need to clear up here – or at the very least I should clear up what I believe…
First of all – What is the Word of God?
Jesus is the Word of God… I know the Bible is called the Word of God – but the true Word of God is Jesus…
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
So what is the Bible? What are the Scriptures?
John 5:39 and 40 – You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
The Scriptures are a testimony about Jesus Christ – and in this passage – Jesus was actually speaking about what we call the Old Testament today – but there was and still is a refusal to go to Christ for eternal life… instead some people seem to idolize and deify the Scriptures as if they will get them into heaven. Sometimes they will get like this over a single translation even – so it is a serious problem. The Bible did not suffer for us – it did not die for us – and it did not rise again… The Bible is a blessing from the God – but it is not God Himself.
Many seek to bind Christians to the law – and they are quick to point out that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law. Matthew 5:17 reads – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – in pointing to this they claim the Law still stands… yet in the verses that follow this one – Jesus doesn’t teach the Law of Moses – leading me to believe there is a greater Law which Jesus is professing… So what was it that He preached that was different from the Law?
Try the entire sermon on the mount, as it has come to be known… Jesus quotes “Do not Murder” from Exodus 20:13… but then warns that even saying ‘You fool!’ can put us in danger of Hellfire… Jesus says adultery isn’t just sleeping around when married – but that looking in lust means you’ve committed adultery in the heart! Some claim this is just an amplification of the law – but even an amplification is a change. Jesus also changes the whole concept of divorce – making it completely unacceptable except in cases of adultery. In Matthew 19 He went so far as to point out that Moses wrote the Law on divorce because of the hardened hearts of the Jews – but He also said that isn’t how it was in the beginning… doesn’t this show us Moses wrote at least some of the Law himself? God differed from Moses on this point at the very least. The OT says we must keep our oaths – but Jesus says make no oath at all – let our yes be yes and our no be no… anything more comes from the evil one… Then there’s Eye for an eye. Jesus mentions the eye for and eye tooth for a tooth quite clearly – but Jesus says instead of that – we are to turn the other cheek! In fact – if you dig deeper into what Jesus said – culturally – He was calling people to be so good that our goodness would shame those seeking to do wrong. Their evil deeds would backfire on them. Jesus also countered against the notion that Jews should love their neighbors but hate their enemies… calling us to instead love and pray for our enemies. And throughout the Gospels, we repeatedly see Jews really ticked off with Jesus for not following their Laws…
The idea that fulfilling the Law meant that Jesus followed the letter of the Law of Moses seems ridiculous to me in light of the persecution He faced by those who were under the Law. Jesus fulfilled the Law by living the way the Law was supposed to lead the Jews to live. He didn’t need their rules to get to the point of fulfilling it – He simply lived as the Law was supposed to lead people to live. And through Him – we can do the same.
Many have said – Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion – and I would have to say – I agree completely, but He also did not come to extend or revitalize and old religion either. He came to show us a true relationship with God – and how to have one with Him through the Holy Spirit. He did not come to make Gentiles into Jews – He sent the disciples out to every nation so that people would be reconciled back to God through a relationship with Him.
Then there are those who attack Paul… believing him to be a false prophet that contradicted Jesus. As I’ve said before, their problem isn’t really with Paul but instead its in the fact that these people do not understand who Jesus truly is – what His message truly is – or how it is that He fulfilled the Law. I don’t believe one can truly claim to know Christ if they don’t understand how Paul is a servant of Christ simply explaining the truth to Gentiles as led by Christ. The problem with the truth is that it is too simple for most people to accept. Consider the letter from Acts 15 the Apostles wrote to the Gentiles when wondering if we are to be under the law…
The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
Think about that – particularly this line… “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements” This is saying it seemed Good to God and them… thus – God is the one who allowed Christianity to walk away from the bondage of the Law…
All Paul did was try to explain what was happening in a way that everyone could understand it. I think most of Paul’s critics are simply jealous of the fact that he had been blessed with such a glorious mission for the Lord…
Jesus brought us the New Covenant. The word New is really self-explanatory. It is not the former covenant that God made with the Jews – it is the covenant offered by Jesus to each and every person who believes in Him… this covenant is confirmed by the Holy Spirit…
While faith without works is dead – works without faith are useless. You can follow the Law all life long – but there are two things we know for certain… none but Jesus have ever been able to keep the law without faltering – we all fall short of the Glory of God… and we cannot be saved by the Law – only by the blood of Jesus Christ…
Now Jews, Messianic believers, and Muslims may disagree bitterly with my understanding as I’ve expressed it here in this article – but it is exactly what I believe… and I believe that what I believe is truth as given by God Himself…
Jesus and all He taught trumps absolutely everything and anything in the Old Testament. Even what His disciples, the Apostles, even what they taught trumps everything found in the Old Testament…
I am a participant in the NEW COVENANT… and while the Old Testament is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness – it only works if read under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. For instance, if we were to read the OT with the understandings of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus on earth – we would miss the Messiah completely… We must not forget that Jesus had to reveal the scriptures to the disciples concerning Himself –as seen in Luke 24:27 which reads “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” We cannot trust the teachings of Jews when it comes to understanding God or the teachings of Christ, we can only look to the Holy Spirit for that. Where Paul is concerned, when we read his writings we are reading the words of a brother in Christ gifted with the ability to share the truth as he was guided to by God Himself.
The bottom line is this – Jesus is Lord. Jesus is our Savior. If you don’t like that – so be it – I can’t convince you of the truth anymore than any one else can. No one can come to the Son unless He is brought to Him by the Father. Additionally – no one has the Father if He denies the Son… All I can do at this point is pray that the Father will bring you to Christ…
This entry was posted on January 7, 2010, 12:53 am and is filed under Commentaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Jesus Didn’t Come to Turn Gentiles Into Jews
Jesus is My LORD
There are a few things I think we need to clear up here – or at the very least I should clear up what I believe…
First of all – What is the Word of God?
Jesus is the Word of God… I know the Bible is called the Word of God – but the true Word of God is Jesus…
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
So what is the Bible? What are the Scriptures?
John 5:39 and 40 – You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
The Scriptures are a testimony about Jesus Christ – and in this passage – Jesus was actually speaking about what we call the Old Testament today – but there was and still is a refusal to go to Christ for eternal life… instead some people seem to idolize and deify the Scriptures as if they will get them into heaven. Sometimes they will get like this over a single translation even – so it is a serious problem. The Bible did not suffer for us – it did not die for us – and it did not rise again… The Bible is a blessing from the God – but it is not God Himself.
Many seek to bind Christians to the law – and they are quick to point out that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law. Matthew 5:17 reads – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – in pointing to this they claim the Law still stands… yet in the verses that follow this one – Jesus doesn’t teach the Law of Moses – leading me to believe there is a greater Law which Jesus is professing… So what was it that He preached that was different from the Law?
Try the entire sermon on the mount, as it has come to be known… Jesus quotes “Do not Murder” from Exodus 20:13… but then warns that even saying ‘You fool!’ can put us in danger of Hellfire… Jesus says adultery isn’t just sleeping around when married – but that looking in lust means you’ve committed adultery in the heart! Some claim this is just an amplification of the law – but even an amplification is a change. Jesus also changes the whole concept of divorce – making it completely unacceptable except in cases of adultery. In Matthew 19 He went so far as to point out that Moses wrote the Law on divorce because of the hardened hearts of the Jews – but He also said that isn’t how it was in the beginning… doesn’t this show us Moses wrote at least some of the Law himself? God differed from Moses on this point at the very least. The OT says we must keep our oaths – but Jesus says make no oath at all – let our yes be yes and our no be no… anything more comes from the evil one… Then there’s Eye for an eye. Jesus mentions the eye for and eye tooth for a tooth quite clearly – but Jesus says instead of that – we are to turn the other cheek! In fact – if you dig deeper into what Jesus said – culturally – He was calling people to be so good that our goodness would shame those seeking to do wrong. Their evil deeds would backfire on them. Jesus also countered against the notion that Jews should love their neighbors but hate their enemies… calling us to instead love and pray for our enemies. And throughout the Gospels, we repeatedly see Jews really ticked off with Jesus for not following their Laws…
The idea that fulfilling the Law meant that Jesus followed the letter of the Law of Moses seems ridiculous to me in light of the persecution He faced by those who were under the Law. Jesus fulfilled the Law by living the way the Law was supposed to lead the Jews to live. He didn’t need their rules to get to the point of fulfilling it – He simply lived as the Law was supposed to lead people to live. And through Him – we can do the same.
Many have said – Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion – and I would have to say – I agree completely, but He also did not come to extend or revitalize and old religion either. He came to show us a true relationship with God – and how to have one with Him through the Holy Spirit. He did not come to make Gentiles into Jews – He sent the disciples out to every nation so that people would be reconciled back to God through a relationship with Him.
Then there are those who attack Paul… believing him to be a false prophet that contradicted Jesus. As I’ve said before, their problem isn’t really with Paul but instead its in the fact that these people do not understand who Jesus truly is – what His message truly is – or how it is that He fulfilled the Law. I don’t believe one can truly claim to know Christ if they don’t understand how Paul is a servant of Christ simply explaining the truth to Gentiles as led by Christ. The problem with the truth is that it is too simple for most people to accept. Consider the letter from Acts 15 the Apostles wrote to the Gentiles when wondering if we are to be under the law…
The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
Think about that – particularly this line… “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements” This is saying it seemed Good to God and them… thus – God is the one who allowed Christianity to walk away from the bondage of the Law…
All Paul did was try to explain what was happening in a way that everyone could understand it. I think most of Paul’s critics are simply jealous of the fact that he had been blessed with such a glorious mission for the Lord…
Jesus brought us the New Covenant. The word New is really self-explanatory. It is not the former covenant that God made with the Jews – it is the covenant offered by Jesus to each and every person who believes in Him… this covenant is confirmed by the Holy Spirit…
While faith without works is dead – works without faith are useless. You can follow the Law all life long – but there are two things we know for certain… none but Jesus have ever been able to keep the law without faltering – we all fall short of the Glory of God… and we cannot be saved by the Law – only by the blood of Jesus Christ…
Now Jews, Messianic believers, and Muslims may disagree bitterly with my understanding as I’ve expressed it here in this article – but it is exactly what I believe… and I believe that what I believe is truth as given by God Himself…
Jesus and all He taught trumps absolutely everything and anything in the Old Testament. Even what His disciples, the Apostles, even what they taught trumps everything found in the Old Testament…
I am a participant in the NEW COVENANT… and while the Old Testament is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness – it only works if read under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. For instance, if we were to read the OT with the understandings of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus on earth – we would miss the Messiah completely… We must not forget that Jesus had to reveal the scriptures to the disciples concerning Himself –as seen in Luke 24:27 which reads “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” We cannot trust the teachings of Jews when it comes to understanding God or the teachings of Christ, we can only look to the Holy Spirit for that. Where Paul is concerned, when we read his writings we are reading the words of a brother in Christ gifted with the ability to share the truth as he was guided to by God Himself.
The bottom line is this – Jesus is Lord. Jesus is our Savior. If you don’t like that – so be it – I can’t convince you of the truth anymore than any one else can. No one can come to the Son unless He is brought to Him by the Father. Additionally – no one has the Father if He denies the Son… All I can do at this point is pray that the Father will bring you to Christ…
This entry was posted on January 7, 2010, 12:53 am and is filed under Commentaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.