Don’t Expect Jesus To Be Reasonable

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth to seek and to save that which was lost ¹. However, in the Bible we never see Jesus inviting people to pray a prayer to “receive” salvation. Throughout the four gospels we see Jesus calling people to follow him, and it’s this commitment to follow Christ that leads to salvation ². How we understand and respond to Jesus’ call will have eternal implications.

Let’s examine some Biblical examples of Jesus calling people to follow him, and the different ways that they responded.

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Relating To Jesus Beyond The Gospels

The four gospels of the Bible give us amazing insight into the life of Jesus. We get to see the Son of God living among us as the Son of Man. He models perfectly what it means to love God and to love others. He also models perfect obedience that honors God ¹. For all eternity we will marvel at how God’s amazing love caused Him to make the ultimate sacrifice that restores us to right relationship with Him.

As believers we should diligently study the gospels and take to heart the example and teachings of Jesus that are recorded there. However, we are also called to engage in a right-now relationship with the risen Christ. In order to have a healthy relationship with Jesus, we must understand who he is right now, who he is beyond the gospels. Freezing Jesus in time and seeing him only as he was in the time of the gospels will have a negative effect on our present-day interaction with him.

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Jesus Said Some Scary Stuff

If a doctor knows his patient has a life threatening disease that can be successfully treated, is he being negative if he tells them their condition, or is he negligent if he keeps quite? If someone knows there are dangerous road conditions ahead, are they being negative if they warn fellow travelers, or are they negligent if they keep quite? I think everyone would agree that in these life-or-death situations, the right thing, the responsible thing, would be to speak up and clearly communicate the truth.

However, in matters of eternal life or death, we don’t seem to have the same clarity. Today’s Christian culture seems to operate from a deep conviction that above all else God wants us to say positive things. This misconception has rendered the church impotent when it comes to speaking life-or-death truths that desperately need to be heard.

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Should Christians Be Judging?

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matt 7:1) is a well-known scripture that many people like to quote. It is often used to imply that being critical of anyone in anyway is a violation of how God wants us to act. However, this is only one scripture and should not be viewed as the definitive truth on this issue. The truth about any subject is found in everything the Bible has to say about that subject, and the Bible has much more to say on the subject of whether or not we should judge others and their actions.

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God Hides Things From The Wise

There are several passages in the Bible that talk about truth being “hidden” from some people while being “revealed” to others. Seeing, understanding, and walking in truth is foundational to a right relationship with the Lord, so it’s rather disturbing to read in the scriptures that some people have important truths that are kept from them. The problem isn’t that the truth is too complicated or too difficult to understand. The problem is that people are being denied the opportunity to see and understand truth that is actually right in front of them. This doesn’t happen indiscriminately. God doesn’t draw straws to determine who gets it and who doesn’t. There are principles at work that determine whether truths are hidden from us or revealed to us, and ultimately it’s the condition of our heart that sets us up to see or leaves us in the dark. Continue reading “God Hides Things From The Wise” →